Translated material
The Guild of Religion and Law Experts is convinced that the election campaign in Togliatti is of an extremist nature
On March 16, 2012, the Guild of Experts in Religion and Law applied to The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation with the requirement to conduct an audit and initiate a criminal case under Art. 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public calls for extremist activity) in relation to persons who placed billboards in Togliatti with depiction of the Baptist church as a "symbol of damnation".
“ These billboards indicate that March 18, when the second round of voting for candidates for mayor of Togliatti will take place, the townspeople will have to choose between Light and Curse , - it is said in handling. - On a light, radiant The positive side of the billboard depicts the Transfiguration Cathedral of Tolyatti. His an ominous dark side is occupied by the Central Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists (the city of Bender, Transnistria), over which a black raven is circling .
The authors of the appeal are convinced that these billboards " incite religious hatred and enmity, humiliate human dignity and offend religious feelings citizens ”, because contain a negative emotional assessment of the Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists and form a negative attitude towards non-Orthodox religious organizations .”
Recall that one of candidates for the mayor of Togliatti is an evangelical Christian.
In our opinion, the installation of the aforementioned billboards is not a reason that deserves a criminal case. In this case, we are talking about a violation of the rules of pre-election campaigning, which prohibit the incitement of religious hatred and enmity, which the city election commission was supposed to stop. However, since she did not pay due attention to this fact, citizens could apply to the prosecutor's office with a demand to eliminate the violation of the electoral law.
Sources
- Appeal of the Guild of Experts on Religion and Law to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation regarding the situation in Tolyatti // Religion and law. 2012. March 16.