Six gay activists were arrested on Wednesday (July 24) after attempting to stage an unsanctioned protest outside a children's library in Moscow.

A gay activist staged a one-man picket holding a banner reading "It is normal to be gay" just outside the library entrance.

Police officers quickly moved in to arrest him and people who came along with him, leading the activists away to nearby police vehicles.

As one of the activists was led away she was telling television cameras that all they wanted is to tell children the truth. In the police bus, when she told policeman repeatedly that they were breaking the law permitting one-man pickets one of them replied, "I don't care."

Earlier this month Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning the adoption of children by same-sex couples, as part of an increasingly conservative agenda the Kremlin is pursuing since his return to power.

In the same week he signed another law banning gay "propaganda", which human rights groups say has fuelled hate crimes against homosexuals.

The six arrested on Wednesday became the first to be charged under this law.

The 60-year-old president denies there is discrimination against gays.

Presented by Adam Justice