The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a lawsuit by a Russian lesbian couple who challenged authorities’ refusal to register their marriage, Interfax reported Tuesday.

Irina Fet and Irina Shipitko have married in Canada, with the Russian Embassy approving their marriage certificate. But a Moscow registry office refused to register the marriage, and courts upheld this decision in 2009, prompting the couple to file a suit in the Strasbourg court, gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev said.

Fet and Shipitko will probably have to wait several years before their lawsuit is reviewed, Alexeyev said.

(MT)