STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Swedish furniture company Ikea said it has removed an interview with a lesbian couple from the Russian edition of its customer magazine.
Company spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson said the interview of Clara and Kirsty Dorset was removed from the Russian edition of Ikea Live due to the country's law that bans gay propaganda.
"We have two guiding principles in the communication we distribute from Ikea. The first is home interior design. The second is following the law," she said.
Gay rights activists in Sweden said the decision was cowardly.
"I find it disappointing that Ikea has simply laid down flat," Ulrika Westerlund, chair of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, told The Local.se.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law, which bans propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors, in June.
Critics have said the law's vague wording outlaws expression of LGBT rights, including pride parades, The Local.se reported.
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