Unlawful anti-extremism in May 2013

We publish an overview of the main and most significant events in the field of illegal application of anti-extremist legislation in Russia in May 2013. Rulemaking

On May 21, the State Duma adopted in the second reading a bill on the protection of feelings believers. were made to the text of the draft law for the second reading Amendments . Instead of introducing a new criminal article, the composition of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code. Now it should also provide for liability for public actions, expressing clear disrespect for society and committed in order to insulting the religious feelings of believers. By voting for the bill, MPs did not take into account any demands of the public, in particular, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, nor the recommendations of the Legal Department of the State Duma. With our point of view on the new version of the bill can be found here .

On May 24, the State Duma in the second and third readings excluded from the bill "On Amendments to Articles 4 and 24 of the Federal Law "On the Freedom conscience and religious associations" (in terms of granting religious organizations with the right to establish requirements for ministers, religious personnel and employees of religious organizations, as well as candidates for these positions)" proposed anti-extremist amendments. According to the adopted version, " religious organizations have the right to establish, in accordance with their internal establishing conditions for the activities of clergy and religious personnel, as well as requirements for them, including in terms of religious education ." Thus, control over requirements for religious the education of ministers will not be transferred to the jurisdiction of the state, as was originally intended. At the end of the month, the Federation Council approved the bill.

Three days earlier, the State Duma adopted in the first reading the draft law "On amendments to Article 9 of the Federal Law "On Freedom of Conscience and religious associations". Article it is proposed to add paragraph 3, which refers to the prohibition of becoming founder, participant or member of a religious organization to foreigners or stateless persons, "in relation to whom, in accordance with the established the legislation of the Russian Federation adopted a decision on the undesirability of their stay (residence) in the Russian Federation", to persons whose activities are recognized by the court as extremist, or falling under the law on combating money laundering and financing of terrorism. But in light of editing the above draft law and general ambiguity with the terms "membership" and "participation" in relation to religious organizations, it can be expected that this bill will also be reviewed.

In early May, it became known that the Ministry of Justice had prepared amendments to the Federal Law "On countering extremist activities", involving the creation of a list of symbols of extremist organizations by analogy with the Federal Lists of Extremist Materials and extremist organizations. From the point of view of the ministry, the banned list symbolism will facilitate the work of the courts and limit the possibility of arbitrary interpretations. It is assumed that the list will be maintained by the Ministry of Justice itself, or websites regional registration chambers. Note that the impracticality of the Federal list of extremist materials raises doubts about the advisability of creating another similar document. In addition, only officially registered symbols of banned organizations. But obviously that organizations threatened with a ban are unlikely to register their symbolism.

At the end of the month it became known that the Ministry of Communications and Mass Communications has developed a bill to amend the law on MASS MEDIA. The bill provides for the introduction of a ban on the establishment of mass media for persons brought to justice for crimes against public security, as well as the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state. The ban will affect, in particular, those convicted under anti-extremist articles and for hooliganism. According to the current legislation, the establishment of mass media is prohibited only minors, prisoners and mentally ill citizens recognized court incompetent. From our point of view, if the bill is passed will be an unjustified restriction of the right to freedom of speech for a wide category convicts.

In the same days, information appeared that the Ministry of Justice had prepared a draft Federal Law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation", providing for tougher punishment for anti-extremist articles of the Criminal Code (280, 282, 282.1 and 282.2). The bill was drafted on behalf of President "in order to neutralize threats to national security, associated with the destructive activities of religious organizations in the territory Russian Federation" . According to the bill, the size of fines and terms of imprisonment, corrective and compulsory works, provided for by the said articles of the Criminal Code. government commission for legislative activity the bill approved. Now he must be reviewed at a government meeting. We consider a comprehensive tightening sanctions on anti-extremist articles as an unjustified measure. Intimidation is not is an effective method of combating radical, including religious, groups, and the practice of indictments under these articles of the Criminal Code does not shows that the prosecutor's office feels the lack of tougher sanctions.

Criminal prosecution

In early May, the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur issued a verdict activists of the "Other Russia" Anton Lukin and Svetlana Kuznetsova. They were found guilty under paragraph "a" part 2 of Art. 282 UK (actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity committed with the use of violence or with the threat of its use), Part 1 of Art. 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremist activity) and Part 3 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code (calls riots) and sentenced to three and one and a half years in prison conditionally, respectively. Lukin and Kuznetsova were charged with distribution leaflets "Victory will be ours!", "Gagarin. Results. 50 years" and the newspaper "Higher Measure" during a rally in June 2011 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The defense plans to appeal the verdict. We do not have all the information on the case, however, fragments of the imputed materials, known from expert opinion on which the accusation is based, in our opinion, cannot be regarded as calls for extremist activity, nor as hate speech.

The Arkhangelsk Regional Court in the second half of May refused to satisfy the appeal complaints against the verdict to the president of the association of Pomors of the Arkhangelsk region Ivan Moseev under Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation human dignity). Recall that Moseev was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 100 thousand rubles. Thus, the verdict entered into force. Moseeva accused of leaving on the website of the news agency "Echo North" comment under the nickname "Pomors", insulting ethnic Russians. From our point of view, the statement left on the site "Echo North", which served as a pretext for initiating a criminal case, can be classified as hate speech, but it in no way gives grounds for criminal prosecution.

At the end of the month, the Presidium of the Moscow City Court refused to satisfaction of the next supervisory appeal of the lawyers of the convicted members of the group Pussy Riot. The court did not agree with the lawyers' arguments that the decisions in the case "were made with significant violations of the criminal and criminal procedure law, influenced the outcome of the case , "and did not see political overtones in the case.

At the end of May, the world court of the Oktyabrsky district of Novosibirsk sentenced Imams of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Asian part of Russia Ilkhom Merazhov and Kamil Odilova under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organizations) to a year of imprisonment on probation. Merazhov announced his intention appeal the verdict in all instances up to the ECtHR. Recall that Merazhov and Odilov was accused of organizing activities in Novosibirsk religious association "Nurcular", knowing that it is banned as extremist. The only reason for persecuting Merazhov and Odilov was the fact that they studied the books of the Turkish theologian Said Nursi, part of whose works in Russia is banned. We consider unlawful both the ban on Nursi's books and the ban on association "Nurcular", which did not exist in Russia at all, there are only individual believers who study the heritage of Nursi and are not seen in any what extremist activity.

Meanwhile, in May, the persecution for reading Nursi unfolded with particular in scope. In the Perm Territory, a criminal case was initiated under Art. 282.2 CC (organization and participation in the activities of an extremist organization) in relation to seven people, including a citizen of Turkey and three citizens of Azerbaijan. Four foreigners and one Russian citizen were arrested, two more Russian citizens were released on bail. The detainees are said to law enforcement agencies, it was seized, in particular, about 5 thousand books and brochures, as well as computers and information media. There have been reports of detention and searches of several followers of Said Nursi in Anapa, Rostov-on-Don and St. Petersburg (the exact number is unknown). When searching for them more than 1,200 books and brochures and information media were allegedly seized.

In the second half of the month, the Taganrog city court held preliminary hearing in the case of 16 Jehovah's Witnesses accused in parts 1 and 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of the activities of an extremist organization and participation in such) and Part 4 of Art. 150 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (involvement juvenile to commit a crime). Crime, according to investigation was that the defendants, "knowingly" about the ban and liquidation of the Taganrog community Jehovah's Witnesses as an extremist continued her work. Accused Numerous acts are incriminated, most of which cannot in any way be be classified as "extremism" (for example, refusal to transfuse blood or from military service). The accusation under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code is reduced participation in religious group meetings and the use of religious texts. The examination of the case was carried out with violations, since the expert, instead of religious studies gave legal assessments, which he had no right to. Besides (the rarest case in modern law enforcement practice), all sixteen the charge was brought taking into account the aggravating circumstance under paragraph "e" Part 1 Art. 63 of the Criminal Code, that is, the commission of a crime based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or based on hatred or enmity towards any social group. At In this case, the very motive of religious hatred or enmity in the document does not is proved.

Administrative persecution

In May, we became aware of three cases of unlawful fines under Art. 20.29 Code of Administrative Offenses: a resident of Tyumen was fined for distribution at a bus stop public transport prohibited literature of Jehovah's Witnesses; member Spiritual Board of Muslims of North Ossetia, the son of the mufti of North Ossetia was punished for attempting, as part of a prisoner support program, to transfer to the convict a disc with the illegally banned film "The Miracles of the Quran"; a librarian from Ivanovo suffered because the library had banned brochure "What is Scientology?" (library law requires readers to have access to to all books of funds).

In May, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Altai and the Oktyabrsky District Court of Penza made diametrically opposed decisions in cases under Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. In both cases, it was about the demonstration of Nazi symbols without propaganda goals. But the Supreme Court of the Republic of Altai upheld the guilty verdict blogger Sergey Reshetnev, who posted on his page on the network "VKontakte" a series of photographs with images of Adolf Hitler and Nazi symbols in order to compare the leadership style of the mayor of Gorno-Altaisk with Hitler. And the Oktyabrsky District Court of Penza terminated the proceedings under Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (propaganda and public demonstration of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols) in relation to the Communist Party activist Pavel Barabanshchikov, who posted on themselves on VKontakte, two demotivators with a swastika condemning Nazism. The court motivated its decision by the fact that the public demonstration of the Nazi paraphernalia or symbols in itself does not constitute an offense under Art. 20.3, it must necessarily be accompanied by propaganda, which in this case was not.

Other state actions

In mid-May, Roskomnadzor issued a second warning editors of the site Grani.ru for violating Art. 4 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On the mass media information". The agency requires removal for "inciting religious discord" a photograph illustrating an April 23 article about a similar warning, published earlier. Roskomnadzor is concerned about photos of T-shirts with "icon" of Pussy Riot by Novosibirsk artist Artem Loskutov. WITH from our point of view, both warnings were issued unlawfully, since the image on T-shirts (stylized as an icon) does not contain signs inciting religious hatred, that is, hatred of Orthodoxy or its followers. The editors refuse to remove the photo from the site, which may lead to by the closure of the publication "Frontiers" intend to appeal against the actions of Roskomnadzor in a court.

The prosecutor's office of the Zheleznodorozhny district of Rostov-on-Don issued warning about the inadmissibility of violations of the legislation on countering extremist activities against two followers of the Chinese spiritual practicing Falun Dafa. The reason was their use of group practice of the forbidden book Zhuan Falun. Recall several "Falun Dafa" materials were found to be extremist in In 2011, a complaint against this decision was filed with the ECtHR. We have repeatedly stated that We consider the persecution of Falun Dafa unreasonable and unlawful.