European Union commissioner to boycott Sochi Olympics over LGBT discrimination laws

Graphic via Memeograph

Yahoo News is reporting that EU commissioner Viviane Reding says she will not attend the Sochi Olympics due to discriminatory treatment of minorities (read: gay people) in Russia:

European Union commissioner Viviane Reding said she would not be attending the Sochi 2014 Olympics in February over what she said was Russia's treatment of minorities, joining German President Joachim Gauck in an open snub to the host nation.

"I will certainly not go to Sochi as long as minorities are treated the way they are under the current Russian legislation," Reding, EU Commissioner for Justice, Citizenship and Fundamental Rights, said in a tweet on Tuesday.

While it was unclear whether Reding had been invited or would have gone as an EU representative or a private citizen, her decision to openly oppose Russia's recent legislation was the most vocal statement by a politician to date.