Candidate arrested & sentenced to 10 days for wearing rainbow T-shirthttps://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/07/candidate-arrested-sentenced-to-10-days-for-wearing-rainbow-t-shirt/ 🔗Alex Bollinger (30 July 2026)
A political candidate in Russia was sentenced yesterday to 10 days in prison for wearing a T-shirt with a rainbow flag on it in a video posted to social media.
Daniil Neonov, who is running for municipal deputy in Moscow, was arrested earlier this month for posting the video on July 16 to a Telegram channel that he owns: "Daniil Neonov – Candidate for Deputy," the Russian LGBTQ+ website Parni+ reports. Telegram is a messaging platform that is especially popular in India and Russia.
Parni+ reports that Neonov identifies as a femboy. He posted a video of himself wearing a headband with ears and a cat mask as well as a black T-shirt with the word "LOVE" written on it in seven rainbow colors.
He was arrested Tuesday afternoon and held overnight by police. SOTAvision reports he was held for seven hours without access to a lawyer. Neonov said that he was choked and beaten at the police station before an officer forbade him from speaking to journalists.
His trial was yesterday. According to SOTAvision, he denied the charges, pointing out that the rainbow on his shirt had seven colors when the LGBTQ+ Pride flag only has six.
The Tushinsky District Court of Moscow ruled that he violated Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation by wearing the symbol associated with extremism. Russia labeled the entire LGBTQ+ movement as "extremist" in 2023.
He was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest, which is the maximum possible sentence. He is also banned from running for public office.
