Yu. Samodurov was charged with inciting religious hatred in connection with the exhibition "Forbidden Art 2006"

On May 13, the investigative department of the Investigative Committee for the Tagansky District of the Russian Prosecutor's Office filed charges against the director of the Center named after. Sakharov to Yuri Samodurov under Part 2 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity) in connection with the exhibition “Forbidden Art 2006” held in March 2007. The criminalcase was initiated in June 2007. Yu. Samodurov did not admit his guilt.

Yu. Samodurov's lawyer Anna Stavitskaya considers the accusation "vague, absurd and unfounded." She emphasized that the defense is awaiting the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the complaint filed in connection with the conviction of Yu. Samodurov in the first criminal case (exhibition “Beware of Religion!”).

“The charge that was brought today, we believe, will become the basis and impetus for a faster consideration of our complaint filed with the European Court in the first criminal case,” said A. Stavitskaya.

The Moscow Patriarchate supported the decision of the investigative authorities. “Let the court decide whether this person is guilty. I don’t think that he needs to be made a hero and a martyr. In my opinion, an offense has been committed that needs to be called as such and condemned,” said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Leaders of leading Russian human rights organizations consider the charges brought against Yu. Samodurov to be unfounded.

The head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Lyudmila Alekseeva, said that her organization is taking “a number of measures to attract the attention of international organizations to this matter.”

The leader of the movement “For Human Rights” Lev Ponomarev considers the accusation to be groundless and plans to defend Samodurov. He plans to appeal to the public and the intelligentsia “to unite and prevent reprisals against the director of the Sakharov Center.”

Yu. Samodurov told RIA Novosti that a written undertaking not to leave the country was taken from him. He refused to testify as an accused, taking advantage of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Sources

• Samodurov was charged with inciting religious hatred for the exhibition “Forbidden Art 2006” // Interfax-religion. 2008. May 13.
• The organizers of the exhibition “Forbidden Art 2006” insulted the feelings of Christians and should be punished, the Russian Church believes // Ibid. 2008. May 13.
• Alekseeva and Ponomarev protest against the charges brought by the investigation against Samodurov // Ibid. 2008. May 13.
• The director of the Sakharov Center Samodurov gave a written undertaking not to leave the place // RIA Novosti. 2008. May 13.