Moscow court orders expulsion of two foreigners over clothing deemed ‘LGBT propaganda’
Moscow’s Lyublinsky District Court on 20 August 2026 sentenced two foreign nationals to ten days of administrative detention each and ordered their forced expulsion from Russia in a case concerning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.” Police based the allegation on clothing they regarded as women’s wear and a “Freedom of choice” slogan mentioned in the case files, Radio Svoboda reports .
According to the rulings, the two were detained at about 9 p.m. on 18 August at Moscow’s Sadovod market. Officers arrived roughly ten minutes later and concluded that their appearance “demonstrated the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual attitudes.” The documents do not specify what clothes they wore or how the slogan was displayed, writes The Insider , which examined copies of the rulings.
The court applied Part 5 of Article 6.21 of Russia’s Code of Administrative Offences. The provision covers foreign nationals and stateless people: public acts that authorities consider aimed at forming “non-traditional sexual attitudes” or presenting them as attractive are punishable by a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 roubles with expulsion, or up to 15 days’ detention with expulsion. The article is reproduced in the ConsultantPlus legal database .
After serving the ten-day terms, the two are to be placed in the Sakharovo detention centre for foreign nationals and forcibly expelled no later than 17 November. The Insider says they will also be barred from entering Russia for five years once the rulings are enforced. The written decisions contain contradictory statements about whether they admitted guilt; there is no public information yet about lawyers or possible appeals.
The published rulings do not state their nationality. The Ostorozhno, Novosti Telegram channel, without naming a source, described them as citizens of Tajikistan. A ParniPlus report mentions both Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, so the destination of the expulsion cannot be confirmed from public records.
The Insider calculates that Russian courts have ordered the expulsion of at least 18 foreign nationals in cases of alleged “LGBT propaganda” since 2023. The outlet describes this as a minimum figure because published judicial statistics combine several offences and do not allow an exact total to be established.
