Moldova obliged to pay damages for banning gay parade

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Moldova for banning Gender Doc-M from staging a gay parade in 2005, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the Jurists for Human Rights association, in 2005 Gender Doc-M asked the Chisinau Municipal Council to issue an authorization for mounting a peaceful demonstration in front of the Parliament Building with the aim of encouraging the adoption of laws that would protect the sexual minorities against discrimination. The Council rejected the application, arguing the demonstration was unjustified as a law on the protection of sexual minorities had been already adopted. The organization appealed the Council’s decision to the Chisinau Court of Appeals, which nullified the decision of the local authorities. The Chisinau City Hall appealed the Court of Appeals’ decision, saying it received petitions from private individuals and associations that asked not authorizing such meetings. In several months, the Supreme Court of Justice accepted the City Hall’s appeal and quashed the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeals. Thus, Gender Doc-M appealed to the ECHR, complaining that its right to assemble was violated and that it was discriminated for promoting the interests of the gay community in Moldova. The ECHR held that Article 11 (Freedom of assembly and association) and Article 14 (Prohibition of discrimination) were violated and obliged Moldova to pay €860 in respect of pecuniary damage, €7,250 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €2,900 court costs to Gender Doc-M.