LGBT activist left with severe broken jaw after homophobic attack in Russia
Boris Konakov has no recollection of the attack but believes it had an homophobic motive
By Steve Brown
An LGBT and HIV activist has been left with a severely broken jaw after homophobic attack in Russia.
Boris Konakov woke up in St Petersburg’s Alexandra Hospital on Monday (30.04.18) with a broken jaw which will require surgery and potentially titanium screws, according to AIDS Center, but has no memory of the attack.
Konakov has been revealed to have multiple fractures in his jaw that are usually caused by considerable force or high-impact trauma such as in car accidents.
He believes that he is a victim of a motivated homophobic attack after he was denied entry to a gay club.
The activist said: “Since nothing was stolen, most likely it was an attack on the grounds of homophobia.”
He then took to Facebook to update people on his health saying his face was in a lot of pain and he had injuries on his knuckles suggesting he tried to fight back.
Writing on social media, he said: “It is a pity that the main indicator of solidarity, so far, remains tragedies and accidents, but I believe that everything will change, thanks to all of us.
“I also really want to find and thank those people who called an ambulance… as well as to testify as witnesses.
“I really want to know who the attackers were. When we find then. And we will.”
Konakov is known in Russia as a high-profile LGBT+ activist and has staged a number of protests over years.
Last year, he chained himself to a bridge in St Petersburg to protest the torture and execution of gay men in Chechnya.
He also locked himself in a cupboard for 30 days without food or water to mark every year of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.