Russian crackdown prevents transgender people from driving
| MOSCOW
New Russian road safety regulations bar transsexuals, transvestites and others with sexual "disorders" from driving.
The new regulations have been criticized by rights activists, who see them as unconstitutional and part of聽Russia's聽crackdown on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and聽transgender聽community.
The government resolution, dated Dec. 29, lists numerous medical conditions that make someone ineligible for a driving license, including "mental and behavioral disorders" as defined by the World Health Organization.
The WHO classification includes "gender identity disorders" such as transsexualism and "disorders of sexual preference," including fetishism and voyeurism.
Human Rights First called it an "alarming violation of the rights of the聽transgender聽community" and "just another example of the Russian regime's methodical rollback of basic human rights for its citizens."
