Madonna 'perversion' case rejected

A Russian court has dismissed a lawsuit which sought millions of pounds in damages from Madonna for allegedly traumatising minors by speaking up for gay rights during a concert in St Petersburg.

The ruling came after a one-day hearing which bordered on the farcical.

During it, plaintiffs claimed that Madonna’s so-called “propaganda of perversion” would negatively affect Russia’s birth-rate and erode the nation’s defence capability by depriving the country of future soldiers.

At one point, the judge threatened to expel journalists from the courtroom if they laughed too much.

In the end, the Moskovsky District Court in St Petersburg threw out the Trade Union of Russian Citizens’ lawsuit and the 333 million roubles it was seeking from the singer for allegedly exposing youths to “homosexual propaganda”.

Madonna did not attend the trial, and her publicist Liz Rosenberg said today that the star would not be commenting.

Anti-gay sentiment is strong in Russia, particularly in St Petersburg, where local legislators passed a law in February which made it illegal to promote homosexuality to minors.

Six months later, Madonna criticised the law on Facebook, then stood up for gay rights during a concert in St Petersburg which drew fans as young as 12.

“Who will children grow up to be if they hear about the equal rights of the lesbian lobby and manly love with traditional sexual relations?” one of the plaintiffs, Darya Dedova, said today.

“The death rate prevails over the birth rate in the West; young guys are becoming gender-neutral.”

The plaintiffs submitted evidence about gay culture drawn from Wikipedia pages, claiming that a real encyclopaedia could not have articles about homosexuality.

“We aren’t against homosexual people, but we are against the propaganda of perversion among minors,” Ms Dedova told the court.

“We want to defend the values of a traditional family, which are currently in crisis in this country. Madonna violated our laws and she should be punished.2

Madonna, who performed in Moscow and St Petersburg in August as part of her world tour, also angered Russian officials by supporting jailed members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot.

The American said during her Moscow concert that she would “pray for them”, then turned round so the audience could see the words “Pussy Riot” written on her back. The singer also donned a ski mask similar to those worn by Pussy Riot.

Despite international outrage, three members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in jail on hooliganism charges for performing a “punk prayer” at Moscow’s main cathedral, during which they pleaded with the Virgin Mary to deliver Russia from President Vladimir Putin.

One member of the band was later released from jail on appeal, but the other two were sent to prison camps to serve their sentences.