Belarus: gay activist arrested again

   The Belarusian activist Sergey Praded was arrested on Monday during a protest in the capital, Minsk - after a night in jail he was freed again and fined.

Belarusian authorities arrested Sergey Praded for 'Coming Out'.

   Praded, co-founder of the project Gaybelarus.by with a dozen supporters in the city of Minsk displayed posters and banners on the Coming-Out Day and along with other lesbians and gays from Belarus called upon others to come out and acknowledge their sexual orientation. To the participants wore T-shirts labeled "I'm gay" or "I'm gay."

   As Sergey Yenin, the vice chairman of gaybelarus.by reported, Praded was arrested after a ten minute discussion with police. According to a report of gay.by he will stand trial on Tuesday and faces a fine of 700,000 rubles (170 euro = $240).

   This is not the first arrest of the activist: In mid-December 2009, Praded was also arrested because he had passed outside the Iranian embassy in a solidarity rally against the mullahs' mistreatment of gays and lesbians.

   Praded distributed copies of the Belarusian Constitution during the protest which guarantees freedom of assembly. Nevertheless, gay and lesbian demonstrations always been banned by the authorities.

   In Belarus, homosexuality has been legal since 1994 but is regarded as taboo. The ruling authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has spoken out against gays in the past. In addition, the Orthodox Church and the religious dominated Council for Morality, have attempted to banish the subject of homosexuality from public life.

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