Moldovan court awards gay soldier damages for ill treatment

CHISINAU — A court in former Soviet Moldova awarded a gay soldier 120,000 lei, or around S$8,900, as compensation for ill treatment he suffered while serving in a military unit, Moldovan media reported on Thursday (Dec 14).

The ruling was the first such judicial decision in Moldova handed down in favour of a victim of harassment on the basis of sexual orientation as the country lying between Ukraine and Romania adopts more liberal attitudes towards homosexuality.

The unit in which Marin Pavlescu served and Moldova's Defence Ministry were ordered to pay the sum for his mistreatment while he was performing his obligatory military service.

Pavlescu and his lawyer, Doina Straisteanu, had sought damages totalling more than 10 times that sum - the equivalent of US$84,000 (S$112,000).

The court awarded the damages on grounds that Pavlescu was denied "the right to respect and protection".

Pavlescu left his unit after suffering the harassment and launched legal proceedings.

Homosexuality was a crime under Soviet rule. Movements promoting LGBT rights have made progress in a number of ex-Soviet states, though resistance is strong among many groups, including the Orthodox Church.

Moldova held its first gay rights parade with only limited police protection earlier this year. A legal case is making its way through the courts to allow single-sex marriages.

In neighbouring Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has expressed sympathy for upholding gay rights though ruling out constitutional changes to allow single-sex marriages while the country is at war.

Gay rights movements remain under extreme pressure in Russia.

Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars in Moscow earlier this month a day the country' top court banned what it called the "global LGBTQ movement" as an extremist organisation.

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