Following Anti-Gay Attack, Out Architect Dies After Brain Surgery

An out architect in Belarus died Tuesday after doctors had to remove 20 percent of his brain due to a hemorrhage. The surgery occurred a year after he was beaten in an anti-gay attack, LGBTQ Nation reports.

Mikhail Pischevsky was assaulted after leaving a nightclub in Minsk last year. Dmitry Lukashevich reportedly used gay slurs against the architect before beating him, leaving Pischevsky with massive head injuries.

Lukashevich was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail and was ordered to pay $8,300 to Pischevsky and $3,300 to his mother. But Lukashevich was released on amnesty in August after serving just 11 months in prison.

Pischevsky recently underwent a number of operations and doctors had to remove about 20 percent of his brain in hopes of saving his life. But Pischevsky did not regain consciousness and died on Oct. 27.

After his passing, some LGBT activists want Pischevsky to be charged with murder.

"We demand justice for Mikhail Pischevsky," a group of activists from the Russian-Speaking American LGBT Association said, according to LGBTQ Nation. "Why has Mikhail's killer not been charged with murder? We demand the answer."

Supporters of Pischevsky held a vigil for him in New York City Thursday morning.

"Mikhail's killer was not charged with battery or assault. He was charged with hooliganism and negligence despite severe bodily injuries that he caused, despite numerous testimonies of witnesses about the attack, despite the fact that the attacker used homophobic slurs during the crime and during the trial," a Facebook posting for the event reads. "Mikhail had suffered for 17 months and died. His killer was set free after 11 months."