Russian man arrested for allegedly running travel agency for gay customers found dead in custody in Moscow

A Russian man arrested for allegedly running a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in custody in Moscow, rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia.

According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov — director of the "Men Travel" agency — faced charges of "organizing extremist activity and participating in it."

OVD-Info said an investigator told Kotov's lawyer that her client had died by suicide early Sunday while in pretrial detention and was found dead in his cell.