Fri Nov 14 17:09:34 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary and a news article based on the provided text:

Summary:

A Moscow court posthumously found LGBTQ travel agent Andrei Kotov guilty of extremism. Kotov, who was found dead in custody a year prior, was accused of extremist activity and using underage people for pornography. Rights groups believe the case is a politically motivated show trial to intimidate the LGBTQ community, exacerbated by Russia’s increasing crackdown on anything deemed against “traditional values” since the Ukraine offensive. Kotov described being beaten at the time of his arrest.

News Article:

Moscow Court Hands Down Posthumous “Extremism” Verdict in LGBTQ+ Case

Moscow – In a move widely condemned by human rights organizations, a Moscow court on Friday, November 14, 2025, found deceased LGBTQ+ travel agent Andrei Kotov guilty of “extremism.” The ruling comes a year after Kotov was found dead in a Moscow pre-trial detention center.

Kotov, 48, who ran the travel agency Men Travel, was arrested in November 2024. At the time, he claimed he was beaten by 15 individuals. The Golovinsky court convicted him of participating in extremist activity and using underage people for pornography, according to reports from Mediazona.

Kotov’s lawyer reported in December 2024 that he had died by suicide.

Critics view the posthumous verdict as a symbolic example of Russia’s increasingly zealous crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. Since Russia’s Supreme Court banned the “international social LGBT movement” as extremist in 2023, rights groups say the government has increasingly targeted individuals and organizations.

“This case is a show trial designed to intimidate LGBTQ+ people,” said a Human Rights Watch spokesperson. “The authorities are using Kotov’s death to spread fear and reinforce their discriminatory policies.”

Mr. Putin has for years denounced anything that goes against what he calls traditional family values as un-Russian and influenced by the West.

Russia’s environment for LGBTQ+ people has deteriorated significantly since its offensive in Ukraine, accelerating a hardline conservative shift.

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