Russian court says Pride ban illegal

For the first time, after five years of lawsuits by gay activists, a Russian court has declared a governmental ban of a gay Pride parade to have been illegal.

The Lenin District Court in St. Petersburg will issue its full opinion at a later date. Activists had argued that a city ban of this year's St. Petersburg Pride parade violated constitutional guarantees of freedom of assembly along with protections guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

"(This is) unprecedented for Russia," said leading gay activist Nikolai …