Gay couple whose marriage was accidentally recognised in Russia flee after death threats
The couple have gone into hiding
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Two gay men whose marriage was registered by a Russian official have been forced to flee the country after they received death threats.
Pavel Stotsko and Yevgeny Voitsekhovsky revealed they got married in Coppenhagen, Denmark, earlier this month and went to the multifunctional service centre (MFC) to register their marriage.
The couple reportedly exploited a loophole through a law in which Russia recognises marriages made abroad, so when a government official stamped the couple’s passports it validated their marriage.
They then shared images of their stamped passports online, sparking outrage in the country. The MFC quickly issued a statement denying they had recognised the marriage.
The interior ministry announced that the couple’s passports would be annulled and that the clerk who stamped them would be dismissed. The ministry also claimed the couple will face a fine for “defacing” passports, The Guardian reports.
Stotsko revealed he had been receiving death threats from people who want to “rip off his head.” His mother was also affected and had received anonymous telephone calls from people claiming she would lose her job if she didn’t convince Stotsko to retract his statement about the stamps.
According to gay rights group Russia LGBT Network, police blocked the entrance to the couple’s apartment and prevented friends from entering and helping them on Sunday (January 28).
Officers attempted to enter the apartment all day, claiming they only wanted to deliver a court summons to the couple. In addition, electricity and internet access were blocked in the apartment.
Russia LGBT Network then sent lawyers to help the couple, but officers refused to leave until they seized the couple’s passports. Negotiations carried on until two o’clock in the morning on January 29, when the couple finally agreed to hand over their passports.
Later that same day, the gay rights group said the couple were now at a safe location.