Unlawful anti-extremism in January 2016

We we publish an overview of the main and most significant events in the field misuse of anti-extremist legislation in Russia in January 2016 of the year.

Criminal the pursuit

IN at the end of December 2015, it became known what's in Blagoveshchensk Amur Region under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 CC (organization of the organization's activities, banned for extremism) arrested a resident of the village of Ivanovka, a Muslim, Evgeniy Kim. He is accused of participating in activities religious banned in Russia organization "Nurcular". As several more witnesses in the case Muslims, among them a resident of Blagoveshchensk Anton Starodubtsev. Recall that we are not We consider it lawful to ban books Said Nursi, no association ban Nurcular, which is not available in Russia existed at all: there are separate believers who face unjustified persecution for study of Nursi's books.

In the second half of January it became known that a resident of Crimea, a citizen of Ukraine Andrei Kolomiyets charged according to part 3 of Art. 30, paras. "a", "b", "e", "l" part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempt on murder of two persons in connection with the exercise these persons of official activity, committed in a generally dangerous way, according to motives of political and ideological hate). He is accused of January 2014 he, as a member Ukrainian rebel army (UPA) participated in clashes on the Maidan and threw in two policemen from the Berkut battalion Molotov cocktails, so their clothes caught fire, but they were help was provided on time. If version Crimean law enforcement agencies is true, then Ukraine could initiate against him a criminal case and apply to Russian authorities demanding contribute to the investigation. Having aroused such a thing on their own initiative, Russian law enforcement agencies violated the rules for determining jurisdiction.

IN the end of January the parliament of Chechnya and around 30 deputies of the State Duma applied with a request to the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative committee with a request to check for calls for separatism and the presence of crimes under Art. 280.1 CC publication Andrey Piontkovsky's articles on the website radio station "Echo of Moscow". caller controversy article "A bomb ready to explode" was published on Piontkovsky's blog on the Ekho Moskvy website on January 23. She ended with the words that avoiding a catastrophe in the Russian-Chechen relations Chechnya should be given complete independence. After some time after the publication of the text these words have been removed from the site. Recall from our point of view, persecution deserve only calls for violence separatism.

Administrative harassment, banning organizations and materials for extremism and other state action

IN at the very end of December Kazan Islamic scholar Rais Suleymanov was sentenced by the Volga by the district court of Kazan by seven days administrative arrest under Art. 20.3 Administrative Code (public demonstration of paraphernalia extremist organizations). the day before New Year's Supreme Court of the Republic Tatarstan replaced the administrative Suleymanov's arrest for a fine in the amount of one and a half thousand rubles. After spending a day under arrest, he was released. Claims law enforcement called photographs with the flags of "Islamic states" and "Hizb ut-Tahrir", that accompany posted on page of the Islamic scholar in the social network "VKontakte" posts

with links to interviews with him and articles with his comments. Meanwhile, Suleymanov known as an active adversary and much more moderate forms of "alternative Islam". We perform against harassment for showing prohibited symbols, regardless of the presence or lack of propaganda context.

IN December, we learned that under Art. 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for illegal distribution prohibited materials or possession such for the purpose of distribution was charged two individuals. follower Jehovah's Witnesses was fined in Udachny (Yakutia) for distribution prohibited pamphlets, in relation to the chapter communities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan protocol was drawn up under Art. 20.29 Administrative Code after the meeting place of the believers 10 banned publications were found religious organization. Because it This is not the first time a fine has been imposed on head of the community of Birobidzhan, who also issued a warning inadmissibility of extremist activities, it may face liquidation.

So, in the last days of December 2015 in Belgorod Regional Court lawsuits from the regional prosecutor's office to terminate Activities of Jehovah's Witnesses communities Belgorod and Stary Oskol in connection with their implementation of extremist activities. Earlier, in March 2015, the district court in Belgorod banned two brochures of Jehovah's Witnesses. Recall currently extremist in Communities of Witnesses recognized in Russia Jehovah in Taganrog , Samara and Abinsk Krasnodar Territory, and in Taganrog for the continuation of the community were convicted 16 believers. Achieve the elimination of local organizations in 2015 met and prosecutor's office of Cherkessk . Community closure attempt in Gorno-Altaisk ended unsuccessfully for prosecutors. We believe illegal practice of prohibitions Literature of Jehovah's Witnesses extremism and regard persecution this religious movement in Russia as discrimination.

How we became aware in January, in December Pervouralsk City Court of Sverdlovsk area refused to recognize extremist book "Selected Hadith" Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Kandehlavi and "Is God-Inspired the doctrine of the Trinity?" by M. A. K. Keiva. According to the participant in the process lawyer, decisive argument for the court became signed in November, the law on the prohibition of recognition extremist scriptures world religions, although this law applies only four specific books. The prosecutor's office asked the court to recognize book published in Kazan "Selected hadiths" extremist based on conclusions of an expert linguist regional FSB Svetlana Mochalova, according to which the book contains information aimed at promoting exclusivity and the superiority of Islam over others religions. Note that the presented in the collection of texts are hadiths, ancient legends about the words and actions of the prophet Muhammad, sacred to Muslims, and Kandehlavi (the ideologue of the forbidden in Russia - from our point of view, without due grounds - the Tablighi movement Jamaat") only selected and distributed them by topic. With regard to the published Egypt of the book "Is it God-inspired doctrine of the Trinity?", then in it the expertise also saw statements directed to incite hatred on the basis of relationship to Christianity. Solution Pervouralsk court - the first known us the case of refusal to recognize the material extremist on the basis of the "law about sacred texts.

Curious, will reference to this law work in case of the claim of Jehovah's Witnesses against customs. Witness Administration Center Jehovah in Russia in mid-January appealed to the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region with a complaint about actions of the Vyborg customs, which November 27, 2015 refused to import into Russian Party of Bibles in the synodal translation and part "Cognitive Bible" issued by the Russian bible society. Books have been handed over as a gift to Russian co-religionists religious Society of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany. Customs refused to import books, citing on failure to provide "documents, confirming compliance with the restrictions, established by the law on counteraction extremist activity. in a lawsuit Jehovah's Witnesses remind that moment in Russia the law was already in force, outlawing the Bible about extremism.