MOSCOW, October 30 - RAPSI, Sariya Kiut. The Moscow City Court has upheld the ruling against holding a gay parade in Moscow, the court's press service told RAPSI on Tuesday.

The Tverskoy District Court dismissed on July 9 an appeal submitted by the parade's organizer Nikolay Alexeyev, thus upholding the Moscow government's refusal to authorize the event.

The organizers asked the Moscow government to allow the parade in the capital on May 26-27. They expected nearly 1,000 people to gather to participate in the parade and up to 300 people to participate in several rallies.

However, the authorities ruled against the parade, stating that the public reacts negatively to gay rallies. The decision was signed by Moscow Regional Security Department head Vasily Oleynik.

The refusal also stated that the rally would substantially complicate the work of businesses, limit the freedom of travel of citizens, and violate their rights and legal interests.

In their appeal, the parade's organizers said the Moscow government violated not only Russian law, but also the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) judgment in the Alekseyev v Russia case, which ruled that bans on gay parades in the Russian capital are illegal.