Olympics Committee Lobbied Over Russian Law

The Winter Olympics were revealed to be held in Sochi some years ago, however that may change as the International Olympics Committee has met with widespread public outcry over recent laws. The laws, labelled “Anti-Propaganda” laws expressly forbid open homosexuality in Russia, and human rights groups unilaterally agree that they have been used to cover more serious human rights violations in the country. It also labelled the providing of information about homosexuality to minors as being propaganda.

The author Steven Fry wrote a moving open letter to the Committee, which claims that a boycott of the games is “Simply Essential”, while drawing firm comparisons to the Berlin Games of 1936. He continues on to say that allowing the games to take place in Sochi would be a black mark on the Olympic flag. American President Obama, while he did not call for a boycott of the games entirely claimed that discrimination of athletes at the games would not be tolerated.

”I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure the Olympics work, and I think they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently,“

Some groups also claim that this would be counter-productive. American gay professional figure skater Johnny Weir told the BBC “To attack Russia is silly... We aren't attacking the public of Russia... it’s not Russia's public's fault that their government is so bigoted and creating so many problems for a minority group.” On the other hand, human rights groups have also pointed to the human rights abuses in Russia being committed by members of the public, and reports from LGBT groups of hate crimes being ignored by the police.

Russian officials still show no signs of moving on their laws, with sports minister Vitaly Mutk previously suggesting that any athlete starting to “Propagandise” will be “Held accountable”. It is understood that the Committee has taken on board the suggestions of a boycott, and are “Monitoring the situation closely”.