Watchdog

A Russian civil and gay rights activist, Kirill Kalugin, has applied for political asylum in Germany.

Kalugin, a vocal Kremlin critic, told RFE/RL on November 26 that he had left Russia on November 16 and officially asked for political asylum in Germany.

Kalugin said that he does not want "to risk his destiny because of the shortsightedness of the 84 percent of the Russian population," who support President Vladimir Putin.

Kalugin's statement about his intention to get asylum in Germany comes a day after media reports in Russia said another lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activist from St. Petersburg, Artur Akhmetgaliyev, had applied for political asylum in Germany along with his partner.

In September, another activist from St. Petersburg, Natalya Tsymbalova, a founder of the group Straight Alliance for LGBT Equality, lodged a formal request for political asylum in Spain.

GENEVA -- A group of United Nations human rights experts has urged Kyrgyz Parliament to withdraw a bill that suggests legal prosecution for what it calls "gay propaganda."

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Kyrgyz lawmakers to fight "against all forms of violence and discrimination," instead of "adopting legislation which de facto condemns lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities to silence."

In a November 26 statement, it warns that "if passed, the law would run afoul of Kyrgyzstan's human rights obligations and commitments."

The bill passed in a first reading in parliament in October, and must be voted on twice more before going to the president for signature.

It calls for "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to be punished by up to one year in jail and says journalists found guilty of "propagating" homosexual relations will be held accountable.

The bill also bans the creation of groups that defend the gays' rights.