British actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry's call for stripping Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympics because of its new anti-gay laws has reportedly been rejected by UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
According to the BBC, Russia passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under the age of 18 in June, which has been criticised by Western politicians and human rights groups.
In an open letter to Cameron, International Olympic Committee (IOC) and London 2012's Lord Coe, Fry had slammed Russia for 'making scapegoats of gay people' although he later acknowledged that the Games would go ahead in Sochi.
Although Cameron said that he shared Fry's 'deep concern about the abuse of gay people in Russia', he however, refused to give his backing to a boycott, although Fry later admitted that it was probably not realistic to call for a move or a boycott at this stage in terms of it achieving its objective.
However, Fry advised athletes to make a symbolic protest, suggesting it could be a gesture such as crossing their hands in front of their chest, adding that he hoped that such a move would 'show solidarity' to the gay people of Russia who are being tormented and brutalised every day.
Meanwhile, former Kremlin adviser Alexander Nekrassov hit out at Fry's ban call, saying that Fry's comparison of Russia with Nazi Germany was 'over the top' and 'went against' the interests of the gay community, adding that the new law was designed to protect children against all forms of 'sexualisation'.
The Games are due to take place in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in southern Russia in February next year, the report added.
