In yet another sign of how dangerous life is for the LGTBQ community in Russia, a man arrested in October for running a gay travel agency has died in police custody in what authorities said was a suicide. Andrei Kotov, owner of the Men Travel agency, had been arrested for “organizing extremist activity and participating in it,” a charge he vehemently denied. According to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political arrests, Kotov was found dead in his holding cell early yesterday.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been increasingly targeting LGBTQ people for persecution. Police have raided gay clubs in Moscow, arresting patrons for “hooliganism.” At Putin’s request, the nation’s top court decreed in 2023 that LGBTQ groups and individuals were “extremists,” upping the legal jeopardy for the community, which was already facing a crackdown.

Kotov had said after his arrest that police beat him and adminstered electric shocks, even when he showed no resistance. While the exact circumstances of his death will likely never been known, Kotov’s death is in line with the unexplained death of other of Putin’s targets. The most notable example was opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, who the government said died from unexplained causes after taking a walk in the Arctic prison where he was jailed. Navalny had founded an anti-corruption group, which was labeled extremist under the same law that targets LGBTQ people and groups.

While President Biden has been a harsh critic of Putin (although relatively quiet about the anti-LGTBQ crackdowns), Donald Trump has been deferential to the Russian leader. Trump is expected to soften U.S. policy toward Russia, essentially clearing the way for Putin to continue his assault on the LGTBQ community without any criticism from the U.S.

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