Speaking on the opening weekend of the Winter Olympics, Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South West and party spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Seán Crowe claimed that the arrest of over a dozen LGBT activists in Moscow and St. Petersburg served as a reminder of the growing discrimination faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people in Russia.

Crowe made his comments from the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Wexford, which also endorsed a new discussion document on LGBT issues.

“Vladimir Putin’s use of the LGBT community as a distraction from his Governments difficulties with unemployment, chronic poverty and social unrest is unacceptable. And all of this while he spends €51 million on the Sochi Olympics.

“Although not as severe, Ireland is not immune from such right wing ideals. To many, their diatribe creates the perception that there is something wrong with LGBT people. It pushes members of the community into corners of their own lives – lives of isolation, loneliness, and poor self-image.”

As Nelson Mandela said:

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire… Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair.”

Seán Crowe concluded:

“In a month’s time when the medals have been distributed and the journalists gone home, it is then we will see if Russia has changed.”

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