Russian Journalist Says Beaten in Moscow Hate Attack

An openly gay Russian journalist said Saturday he had been beaten near a park in central Moscow in a hate attack.

Pavel Lobkov, a former presenter on Russia's independent TV Rain channel, posted images of his injuries on Facebook, showing a bloodied nose and hand.

"The broken face of a 'f****t' beaten up in a courtyard on Patriarch's (Ponds)," he said in a post accompanying the images.

Patriarch's Ponds is an affluent residential area with a large pond and garden, about a 35-minute walk from Red Square.

Lobkov did not provide further details and AFP was not able to immediately verify the circumstances of the attack, which he posted about early Saturday morning.

The incident comes a month after Russia's top court labeled the "international LGBT movement" as extremist, in a move rights groups warned could precede a wider crackdown.