INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia on Monday arrested a medic for "Satanism" and "promoting same-sex relationships," as Moscow intensifies a legal crackdown on LGBTQ+
rights in defense of what it calls "traditional family values."Moscow has for years created a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people, a trend
it hugely accelerated since sending troops to Ukraine in 2022.The powerful FSB security service said it had arrested the head of a medical
institution in the central Ulyanovsk region, accusing him of "devil worshipping."Such accusations from state authorities are rare, but the
influence of the Orthodox Church has steadily risen as Russia takes an increasingly conservative social turn."In the course of operational
searches, it was established that this person, being a supporter of Satanism, promoted the idea of same-sex relations among subordinate
employees as a way of initiating them into devil worshipping," the FSB said.It said the man had "misled citizens into believing that it was
necessary to adopt the cult in order to gain financial prosperity and achieve career advancement."It said a criminal case has been opened
his apartment and led away by masked men in camouflage uniforms.Russia banned what it called the "international LGBT movement" in November
