The online platform Mangalib, which publishes Japanese comics in the genres of manga, manhwa, and manhua in Russian, has been fined 14 million rubles (about US$155,000) under seven charges of “LGBT propaganda” (part 3, article 6…). This was reported by Mediazona. The decision was issued by the Tagansky District Court in Moscow.
The cases involved seven works published on the platform’s website: “Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie,” “Banana Fish,” “Reincarnation in the Colosseum,” “Immaculate Sin 2,” “For Two,” “The Beast—a Partner for Kodokuri Seikatsu,” and “Fujoshi Haru-chan Loves to Drink.” For each publication, the court imposed a fine of 2 million rubles (about US$22,000).
Roskomnadzor, acting as the prosecution, claimed that the manga depicted male characters with romantic feelings for each other. According to the agency, “Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie” represents “a cultural threat to the national security of the Russian Federation in the part concerning protection of traditional values.” In “Reincarnation in the Colosseum,” a Roskomnadzor representative told the court there is “a harem of defeated girls, specifically involving embracing, kissing, sex, including group sex.”
The defence attempted to contest only one charge, related to the manga “Fujoshi Haru-chan Loves to Drink.” Lawyer Konstantin Popov, representing Mangalib, pointed out that the manga cover depicts not two men but a man and a woman.
Popov also insisted that the platform fulfils all requests from Roskomnadzor and strives to moderate its content.
Previously, Mangalib project manager Ivan Kvast was also fined under “LGBT propaganda” charges for 400,000 and 600,000 rubles (about US$4,500 and US$6,700).
Asya Sokolova for OVD-Info
The adoption of the “LGBT propaganda” law marked not only widespread censorship but also intensified repression against LGBTQ people and the organisations that support them. With the designation of the “International LGBT Movement” as an “extremist organisation,” this pressure has increased once again.
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