European Union Commissioner Viviane Reding has joined Germen President Joachim Gauck in a public boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Reding, in a tweet on December 9th, stated "I will certainly not go to Sochi as long as minorities are treated the way they are under the current Russian legislation."
I will certainly not go to Sotchi as long as minorities are treated the way they are under the current Russian legislation
— Viviane Reding (@VivianeRedingEU) December 9, 2013
President Gauck has been an outspoken critic of Russia's human rights record. Since his presidency he has not visited Russia. A meeting scheduled for June 2012 was canceled due to possible scheduling reasons.
We hope that the courageous actions by EU President Reding and German President Gauck will encourage other world leaders to speak out publicly against the hurtful and discriminatory laws of Russia against the Russian LGBT community.
Towleroad has more on EU President Reding's boycott. Go to The Washington Post for the story about German President Gauck and his actions.