elebration of homosexual behaviour should take place in private or in designated meeting places with restricted access. They added that such clubs, bars and entertainment facilities existed aplenty in Moscow (listing twenty-four examples of such places) and were well frequented, their operation not being hindered by the authorities.
62. In the Government's view, in Moscow the public was not yet ready to accept the holding of gay parades in the city, unlike in Western countries, where such celebrations were regular occurrences. It was thus the authorities' duty to demonstrate sensitivity to the existing public resentment of any overt manifestation of homosexuality. To that end they quoted a Russian celebrity performer, whose stage image capitalised on exaggeration of homosexual stereotypes, as saying that gay parades should not be conducted. They also referred to a statement apparently made by an organisation called "The Union of Orthodox Citizens", which promised to conduct a mass protest "should the homosexuals try to hold the march in Moscow". Likewise, the Orthodox Church was quoted as objecting to the gay parade as propaganda promoting sin, as had the Supreme Mufti for Russia, who had threatened mass protests by Muslims of Russia "as well as by all normal people" should the parade go ahead. They also quoted, although referring to his statement as extreme, the head Muslim authority of Nizhniy Novgorod, who had said that "as a matter of necessity, homosexuals must be stoned to death".
63. Finally, the Government claimed that the prohibition of the gay parades in Moscow had been supported by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. They relied on the statement reported in the news, although they did not mention that this statement had been denied by the Commissioner (see paragraph 52 above).
(b) The applicant
64. The applicant contested the Government's submissions on every point. First, he disagreed that the ban on the public events he had sought to hold had been imposed in accordance with the law. He pointed out that neither the Assemblies Act nor any other legislative instrument provided for a ban on public events. The restrictions set out in section 8 (1) of the Act on holding events in venues which were unsuitable for safety reasons required the authorities to suggest another venue, as set out in section 12 of the Act, and not to ban the event. In any case, even if the Court were to accept that the alleged impossibility of avoiding public disorder at any venue could provide a justification for the ban under domestic law, the applicant maintained that the ban did not comply with two other requirements of Article 8 § 2 of the Convention, in that it had failed to pursue a legitimate aim and had not been necessary in a democratic society.
65. As regards the three legitimate aims referred to by the Government, namely the protection of public safety and the prevention of disorder, the protection of morals and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, the applicant considered all of them inapplicable. He argued that the reference to the protection of morals was not justified because the Government's definition of "morals" included only attitudes that were dominant in public opinion and did not encompass the notions of diversity and pluralism. Moreover, the events at issue could not by their nature affect morals because they had been intended as a demonstration in favour of human rights and civil liberties for the protection and equality of sexual minorities. No intention to demonstrate nudity or sexually explicit or provocative behaviour or material had ever been expressed by the organisers in their applications or public statements. The Government had not shown that any harm would have been caused to society or third persons by the proposed events. On the contrary, the applicant argued, the events would have been of benefit to Russian
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