Nightmares from "Krasnodar Courier"

On April 21, 2009, the Krasnodarsky Courier newspaper published an article by Olga Panina entitled "Unfree Freedom of Conscience", the meaning of which boils down to the fact that "totalitarian sects" pose various threats, both to the individual and to the state. The article is built according to the standard schemes of the so-called "anti-sectarian" articles - testimonies of relatives (friends) of members of such religious groups are given, links are given to the list of "The most famous and dangerous modern destructive cults", comments by some psychologists, and also - which is especially alarming - to the Center on countering extremism of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of the Krasnodar Territory (i.e., the reader is directly convinced that this is "extremism"). At the same time, in the publication, which occupies two A3 pages, only one sentence says that none of the listed organizations (or groups of organizations, since it is not always clear what is at stake) committed illegal acts on the territory of the region. Moreover, not a single example of illegal actions and other organizations is given - only an emotionally negatively colored description of religious and communal practices, which, therefore, are perceived as illegal, but are not. The negative effect of the publication is intensified by its announcement: the entire front page of the newspaper is devoted to advertising this material: a certain photograph (possibly of worship) is accompanied by a headline comparable in size to the headline of the publication, "What sects are nightmares for Kuban: Hundreds of religious organizations operate in the region. How protect your children?"

Let us recall that in February 2009, the Public Collegium for Complaints Against the Press (OKZhP) issued a decision on one of the "anti-sectarian" articles published in the Rostov region. At the same time, the applicants (one of the Protestant communities) in their appeal to the OKPZh emphasized that the Rostov region is “a region with rather complex inter-confessional relations. is perceived by them extremely aggressively. Taking this into account, we believe that such articles are not only unethical, but also dangerous for the life and health of the inhabitants of the region", and that "the parishioners of the Churches" EXODUS ", living on the territory of the Rostov region, are not confident in their own security" . Of course, the same fears can be expressed with respect to the article in the Krasnodar Courier.

Panina Olga. Unfree freedom of conscience // Krasnodar courier. 2009. April 21 .