Human rights activists informed the president about the unlawful persecution of religious figures

On April 28, 2012, a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights was held under the chairmanship of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

During the meeting, the chairman of Civic Assistance, Svetlana Gannushkina, reminded the president about the cancellation of the visa of the Buddhist monk Junsei Terasawa and called on the president to intervene.

President of the Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Georgy Dzhibladze, expressed concern about the unlawful application of anti-extremist legislation to religious organizations.

“In particular, in 2011 alone, nine sentences were passed simply for the fact of following the teachings of Said Nursi - very peaceful and in no way connected with terrorism, and two sentences for sharp criticism of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church. A dozen criminal cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses are being investigated, and so on. In the same vein, there is an unlawful criminal case against the Pussy Riot group,” the human rights activist said. Sources

• Meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights // Kremlin.ru. 2012. April 28.