Russia's Supreme Court bans "LGBT movement" as "extremist"

FILE PHOTO: LGBT activists take part in a protest against amendments to Russia's Constitution and the results of a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms, in Moscow, Russia July 15, 2020. The placard reads: "I don't recognise the authority that keeps me from having a family". REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that LGBT activists should be designated as "extremists", in a move that representatives of gay and transgender people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions.

The presiding judge announced that he had endorsed a request from the justice ministry to ban what it called "the international LGBT social movement".