Woe from Aum

About 30 residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg, detained on Tuesday, on suspicion of belonging to the Aum Sinrikyo sect, turned out to be only yoga lovers. This was reported by Interfax with reference to a source in law enforcement agencies. It is alleged that all detainees were released after interrogations.

Meanwhile, Fontanka.ru, citing her sources, gives somewhat different information about 20 detainees in St. Petersburg. By reporting that all the detainees were released without involving as suspects, the publication, however, does not refute their involvement in Aum Sinrikyo. It is claimed that these people were ordinary adherents of the sect and did not conduct economic activity.

Fontanka.ru also reports that spies and opiates found in the apartments of some detainees during the searches in addition to religious literature. Whether this entailed any legal consequences, is not specified.

The case of Aum Sinrikyo was announced on Tuesday by the head of the press service of the TFR Vladimir Markin . It is open under part 1 of Article 239 of the Criminal Code (creation of an association encroaching on the identity and rights of citizens, or the leadership of them), which provides for the four years of the colony.

As Markin stated, Aum Sinrikyo adherents exerted physical and psychological pressure on citizens to seize their property. In 2012-2014, the sect, he said, collected donations via the Internet. Meetings of its participants in Moscow and St. Petersburg were also held.

Then the detentions were reported both in St. Petersburg and in the capital.