Ten LGBT rights activists have been arrested in Moscow as they tried to protest outside the Moscow headquarters of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev, who has been repeatedly detained for his protests, was among them, an eyewitness told Gazeta.ru.

Photographs of the protest show activists holding a sign reading ‘Homophobia is a disgrace for Russia’, while Alexeyev carried one that read ‘Sochi Olympics boycott — no! Sochi gay pride house — yes!’.

Alexeyev has said he believed that the gay rights movement in Russia would benefit more from foreign contingents speaking out on the issue during the games than from a boycott.

Alexeyev later wrote on Twitter that they were all bailed by police, but that they were facing huge fines for ‘holding an unauthorised protest’.