Translated material
The American "Committee of Concerned Scientists" addressed the judge of the Tagansky Interdistrict Court with a letter in support of the organizers of the exhibition "Beware of Religion!"
"Portal-Credo.ru" publishes a Russian translation of a letter from members of the American "Committee of Concerned Scientists" (Committee of Concerned Scientists, Inc.) to the judge of the Tagansky Interdistrict Court N.G. Larina. The authors of the appeal express "huge concern" in connection with "the accusation against Yuri Samodurov, director of the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center, as well as Lyudmila Vasilovskaya and Anna Mikhalchuk, of violating Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hostility towards religious believers and their humiliation)".
According to the members of the committee, “the exhibition at the Sakharov Museum that gave rise to this charge, the one for which they are responsible, should not be held in violation of Article 282. It contained works of art intended to awaken thought, and not to to incite hostility or to humiliate any religious group.The fact that the exhibition took place in a museum - a place for serious reflection on the work of artists - is significant, because this environment is not exciting for anyone inciting the public on the street to anything. Moreover, any persons who believe that they may feel harmed by such art could have known about its content in advance and could not expose themselves to such harm by refusing to visit the exhibition.
In conclusion, the authors of the appeal express the hope that "the court will find the defendants in this case - the defendants who work hard for freedom and democratic values - innocent of this charge."
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