MOSCOW CITY AUTHORITIES have banned organisers from holding a gay pride parade scheduled to be held in two weeks time, saying the event posed a risk of ‘public disorder’.

The organisers of the event, which had been originally set for May 28, said today they had received a statement from the city hall advising them that their event would not be given the go-ahead – dashing the hopes of organisers who had been traditionally turned down by a previous administration.

South Africa’s Times Live reports how the previous mayor, Yury Luzhkov, had described gay events as “Satanic” and consistently refused organisers the necessary permission to hold public events.

Luzhkov was fired by President Dmitry Medvedev in September and replaced with Sergi Sobyanin, who had made certain concessions to the group, but who has again refused to allow a parade to be held.

Moscuvite authorities told the group they had received letters from members of religious and Cossack groups who feared that the events could lead to “a wave of protests, which could grow into group violations of public order,” organisers said.

The denial of permission for this year’s parade comes in spite of a finding of the European Court of Human Rights which ruled earlier this year that Moscow had acted illegally in banning three successive gay pride parades between 2006 and 2008.

Amnesty International has condemned the decision to ban the parade, and has appealed to the city to review its decision.

Amnesty International Ireland’s Colm O’Gorman said the “so-called public morality concerns can never be used to justify restrictions on the freedom of expression of LGBT people.”

An authorised gathering of gay rights activists took place in the city yesterday, passing off peacefully with an attendance of about 100 – though Amnesty noted that activists across Russia have been assaulted for speaking on the topic.