The Institute of Religion and Law asks the Minister of Justice to exclude “cultists” from the Expert Council and announces an all-Russian campaign “No to Inquisitors!”

The Institute of Religion and Law made an open appeal to the Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov regarding the composition of the Expert Council under the Ministry of Justice.

"A number of members of the Expert Council are not only representatives of a specific religious organization, but also people known for their struggle against non-Orthodox organizations and movements in our country from the standpoint of Orthodox sectarianism. Sectarian activity is a church and public activity that is carried out with the direct or indirect support of the Russian However, not all Orthodox hierarchs, clergymen and laity agree with the radical statements and publications of sectarians who bring discord into inter-confessional relations in Russia and give rise to inter-confessional and state-confessional conflicts, of which there are numerous examples. Radical sectologists were included in the Expert Council and received the right to make recommendations on behalf of the state, which sharply distinguishes them from other members of the Council under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation," says the text signed by the Institute's director Roman Lunkin.

from the council . The authors of the appeal ask the minister to "prevent future conflicts and litigation about the violation of the rights of believers in Russia" and exclude Alexander Dvorkin, Alexander Kuzmin , Evgeny Mukhtarov, Andrey Vasilchenko, Lev Semenov

In addition, the appeal notes that "the ranking of organizations aimed at publicly promoting a particular worldview, on a non-normative, extra-legal basis, through granting or not granting the status of a religious organization by the state based on the decision of the Expert Council, violates:

Art. 14 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which proclaims that the Russian Federation is a secular state and indicates that religious associations are separated from the state and are equal before the law;
Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in conjunction with paragraph 2. Art. 29 and part 1 of Art. 13 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which prohibit propaganda of ideological superiority and inequality;
violates the provision that the state "does not interfere in the activities of religious associations, if it does not contradict the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" (clause 2, article 4 of the Federal Law No. 125)".

The Institute of Religion and Law invites everyone to sign this appeal and announces the start of the All-Russian campaign "No to Inquisitors!" against the presence of "sectarians" in the Council under the Ministry of Justice.

Recall that representatives of the scientific , religious and human rights communities have already spoken out against the Expert Council in its current form.

On May 5, it became known that several thousand members of one of the largest Protestant churches in Udmurtia - the Church of Evangelical Christians of the Faith "Philadelphia" in the city of Izhevsk - expressed bewilderment about the assignment of the status of "state experts" to people who dislike Protestant churches in Russia.

The senior pastor of Philadelphia Church Pavel Zhelnovakov supported the appeal to the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation Alexander Konovalov and issued a letter , which was also supported by several thousand members of this church.

The Church of Seventh-day Adventist Christians also supported the appeal to the minister.

The action was supported by 200 members of the Church of Evangelical Christians (Pentecostals) "In the Name of Jesus" in Volgodonsk, Rostov Region. They also made an appeal to President Dmitry Medvedev with a request to prevent conflicts on religious grounds in Russia.

At the end of May, came out in support of the action. the leaders of the Protestant churches of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

came out in support of the action Also, the protestant church of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and the Pentecostals of the cities of Kirovsk and Apatity of the Murmansk region .

The Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Work with Citizens of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation notified the Institute of Religion and Law that it had received their Appeal and sent it to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

"We inform you that your appeal addressed to the President of the Russian Federation has been received.

In accordance with Part 3 of Article 8 of the Federal Law of May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ "On the Procedure for Considering Appeals from Citizens of the Russian Federation," it was sent to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, "according to the letter of the consultant of the department of written appeals of citizens R. Baikin .

In early June, pastors of Protestant churches in Kamchatka came out in support of the action. "We consider it morally unacceptable to remain silent in conditions when civil peace and religious freedom in our country are subjected to gross ideological pressure," they said.

In October 2009, the action continued in LiveJournal .

Sources