Russian police detained veteran British LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell in Moscow on Thursday for what they said was an illegal protest on the first day of the football World Cup.
Tatchell, who has held similar protests around the world for years, had attempted to hold a one-man protest near Red Square to draw attention to what he said were appalling human rights abuses committed against gay men in Chechnya.
A Reuters reporter saw a Russian policeman tell Tatchell that it was illegal to hold such protests during the tournament, according to Russian law, and to stop or be detained. After a long conversation, Tatchell was led to a waiting police car.
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