In the Rostov region, Jehovah's Witnesses were fined for distributing religious literature on the city streets

In the Rostov Region, Jehovah's Witnesses have been fined for distributing religious literature on the city streets.

May 6, 2015 Rostov the regional court upheld the decision of the Zheleznodorozhny court District Court of Rostov-on-Don, issued on March 27, 2015 against members of the Witness community Jehovah M.S. Churkina and Yu.S. Svetlakova, who preached in the streets Rostov-on-Don.

February 15, 2015 women preached in Rostov-on-Don not far from the bus station and handed out religious literature placed on a portable stand. Their activity was considered an unauthorized picket.

" Being in public without filing a notice of a public event in the prescribed manner organized and conducted picketing, that is, they expressed their opinion without moving and using sound-amplifying technical means using an information stand, where inscriptions are placed: “Is the Bible out of date”, “Take it for free”, “Ask for in their own language." The stand also featured pamphlets titled Is the Bible Outdated, “How to love your job”, which indicates a site on the Internet religious society "Jehovah's Witnesses" "jw.org", which is included in the register domain names containing information whose distribution in the Russian Federation ,” the text of the court’s decision says.

The court found the women guilty of administrative offenses under Part 2 of Art. 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (organization or conduct public event without filing, in accordance with the established procedure, notification of holding a public event) and imposed a fine of 20,000 rubles on each of them.

It is noteworthy that the court decision explicitly states that the determining factor in imposing a fine was the fact placement in the texts of brochures of links to the website of Jehovah's Witnesses, in our opinion, unlawfully prohibited (“...their booth had books not only religious content - for example, "How love your job" the place was decorated in a certain way and - most importantly - the booth had reference to a site that is prohibited for distribution in the Russian Federation”).

Sources

• In Rostov, Jehovists were fined for an unauthorized rally // South Region. Don. 2015. May 20.