Former Moscow municipal deputy candidate and queer femboy Daniil Neonov has left Russia amid persecution

He spoke about torture and the risk of “revolving-door” arrests

A former candidate for councilor in Moscow’s Shchukino District Daniil Neonov left Russia amid pressure from law enforcement. He spoke about this told in an interview with Maxim Zagovora, an editor at First Department.

Persecution. According to Neonov, in late July, officers from Center E (the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Combating Extremism) detained him outside his home and took him in handcuffs to the Mitino police station.

The officers confiscated the young man’s phone and demanded that he unlock it. When he refused, they began throwing at him the lid of a jar they were using as an ashtray. The police then began twisting Neonov’s arms, grabbing him by the throat, and choking him. They also threatened to bring criminal charges against the politician’s relatives.

Afterward, he was held overnight at the police station, and the next day he was arrested for 10 days under the statute prohibiting the display of “extremist symbols” for wearing a T-shirt with a rainbow print.

Shortly before Neonov was released from the special detention center, a new report was filed against him for “LGBT propaganda.” He was detained after serving his sentence and then released.

Departure. According to Neonov, he had not planned to leave Russia, but he faced the risk of being subjected to “revolving-door” arrests. That is why he decided to leave the country.

Because the young man had received a military draft summons, he was barred from leaving the country. He also claims that plainclothes officers were stationed near the entrance to his apartment building. With the help of human rights defenders, Neonov managed to discreetly relocate and reach the evacuation point.

The politician said he intends to return to Russia at the first opportunity.

“What made me unique and my greatest value as an activist was precisely that I was based in Moscow. An openly queer femboy running a petition campaign and seeking election as a lawmaker in Russia in 2026 was a unique, living example of resistance,” Neonov emphasized.