The court acquitted Dzh. Isabaev, accused of inciting religious hatred

On April 6, the Kirovsky District Court of Omsk acquitted Dzhambul Isabaev, who was accused under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code for inciting religious hatred. Isabaev was charged with "deliberate actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity, humiliating the dignity of a person and a group of persons on the grounds of nationality and attitude to religion."

During the trial, 19 prosecution witnesses were interviewed, none of whom confirmed that Isabayev had ever made extremist remarks. None of them, as it turned out, read the book "Fruits of Faith", for distribution of which the accused was detained.

The defense presented the expert opinion of the Institute of Religion and Law, the opinion of the Council of Muftis of Russia, the Central Spiritual Muslim Board of Russia, a number of other opinions of religious experts from Moscow State University, the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientific centers. Their conclusions boiled down to the fact that the works of Said Nursi are far from inciting any hostility and calls for violence.

The court found no corpus delicti in J. Isabaev's actions and acquitted him on both charges.

On May 26 , the Slavic Legal Center reported that an attempt by the Omsk Regional Prosecutor's Office to appeal this decision and send the case back for a new trial was unsuccessful: "... the regional court did not satisfy the requirements of the prosecutor's office, and, moreover, issued a private ruling against the Omsk city prosecutor's office, pointing out the gross violations of the law committed during the investigation."

Sources

• Muslim accused of inciting religious hatred acquitted by court // Slavic Legal Center. 2005. April 6.
• Verdict in the case of D.Sh.Isabaev // There. April 7th.
• A private ruling was issued against the prosecutor's office of Omsk, which accused a Muslim of inciting religious hatred // There. 26 of May.