Some 27 Nobel laureates from the fields of science and the arts are demanding that Russian President Vladimir Putin repeal repressive homophobic legislation which has placed his country at the centre of mounting international fury over gay rights.
In an open letter to the President and the Russian people given exclusively to The Independent, leading figures including the novelist JM Coetzee, geneticist Sir Paul Nurse and chemist Sir Harry Kroto speak out against the ban on “homosexual propaganda” which activists say has led to violence and even suicides among gay people.
The demand was formulated by Sir Harry and his friend Sir Ian McKellen, an influential spokesman for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights. The pair have known each other since their school days. “The letter is written to indicate that many senior members of the international scientific community show solidarity with politicians, artists, sports people and many others who have already expressed their abhorrence for the Russian government’s actions against its gay citizens,” the letter states.
