‘Anti-gay’ jail plan pilloried

Human rights bodies have condemned moves by Ukraine to introduce prison terms for the “promotion of homosexuality”.

Earlier this week and ahead of an election on 28 October, Ukraine’s parliament gave preliminary approval to a law whose authors said homosexuality was a threat to national ­security.

Rupert Colville, the spokesman the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told reporters in Geneva yesterday that the law was “clearly discriminatory” and ran counter to Ukraine’s international commitments to freedom of expression and information.