Protesters Arrested for Attacking Kiev Pride Parade
More than 50 far-right activists were arrested in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Saturday for attempting to disrupt a Pride parade.
The Kiev Pride march saw some 5,000 members of the LGBTQ community and allies take to the streets, about twice that of last year, with U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch and Rebecca Harms of the European Parliament at the front.
About 150 protesters of a nationalist group attempting to block the route and shut down the festivities were thwarted by police, with 56 of them arrested, police reported.
The march was protected by around 5,000 police officers, some on horseback. The anti-LGBTQ protesters threw gas canisters at the cops, who wore riot gear, and five officers had to be treated for injuries.
The 2015 Kiev Pride was disbanded when neo-Nazis attacked marchers, which they promised to do again the following year. However, the demonstration has gone on successfully without incident against participants every year since 2016.
“There must always be the police, otherwise someone will come, otherwise someone will interrupt, otherwise someone will attack,” a 19-year-old demonstrator named Liza told Agence France-Presse. “I think this is not the way it should be in a civilized country.”
Both same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples are still illegal in Ukraine.
