A reporter from France 24 caught up with Vitaly Milonov, the author of St Petersburg’s anti-gay “propaganda” law, as he tried to shut down an LGBT event in the city.
France 24 interview by Julien Pain.
Vitaly Milonov, the St Petersburg lawmaker who authored the city's controversial anti-gay "propaganda" law, has accused LGBT people of attacking straight people in Russia and said reports of anti-gay crimes in the country were "foolish" and "not true" during a video interview with a French reporter.
Milonov reportedly attempted to shut down Queer Fest, an LGBT pride event in St. Petersburg last Thursday, where France 24 journalist Julien Pain found the lawmaker outside and recorded a brief interview, as reported by AmericaBlog Monday.
In one of two videos posted to YouTube, Milonov dismissed Pain's question regarding anti-gay hate crimes that have made headlines in recent months as "foolish."
"Oh no no no, it's a fake, it's a fake information," Milonov said, and proceeded to say the violence is "not true" after Pain persisted.
In a second video, Milonov continued his argument that straight people and Christians are under attack -- not LGBT people -- and went as far as accusing the French police of using chemical weapons against demonstrators protesting against marriage equality legislation in Paris last May.
"Why did you beat peaceful citizens on the street because they were protesting against same-sex marriages?" Milonov said. "In France, they beat hardly, they treat with the gas, like Syria rebels."
Watch the second clip here:
Additional footage from France 24 interview, uploaded by AmericaBlog.
