Law enforcement officials conducted a raid on the offices of Russia’s largest publishing company and detained several employees over accusations of disseminating LGBTQ+ “propaganda” and “extremism,” as reported by Russian media and human rights organizations on Thursday.

The state-run TASS news agency indicated that 11 individuals from Eksmo Publishing House were taken into custody on Wednesday. Three of these individuals are facing charges for allegedly distributing “LGBT propaganda” and participating in “extremist” actions, according to Maxim Olenichev, a lawyer with the legal advocacy group Perviy Otdel.

Authorities claim that these employees published works with LGBTQ+ themes, as stated by Perviy Otdel. In 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court designated the so-called “international LGBT public movement” as an extremist group, despite the fact that such an organization does not officially exist.

Those detained on Wednesday reportedly included senior executives from Eksmo, along with personnel from its shipping and accounting divisions. The rights organization OVD-Info and BBC Russian noted that at least two of the arrested individuals were not employed by Eksmo at the time of their detention.

According to TASS, which cited the publisher’s statements, the head of distribution was released after being interrogated by law enforcement. Eksmo reported that it is fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

In the wake of the police raids and detentions, Eksmo apparently provided its business partners with a list of 50 titles identified by authorities as breaching Russia’s laws against “LGBT propaganda,” as reported by Novaya Gazeta Europe.

One of the flagged titles is the 2021 coming-of-age novel “Summer in a Pioneer Tie,” which was initially published by Popcorn Books, where Eksmo acquired a majority share in 2023.

Popcorn Books was the first publisher targeted under Russia’s broadened anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.