The ECHR communicated the complaint of a pastor fined for reading the Bible in a cafe

the ECHR communicated On February 23, 2017, the complaint of a pastor fined by the Khostinsky District Court of Sochi for reading the Bible in a cafe. This was reported on the website of the ECtHR.

Pastor Aleksey Kolyasnikov on the evening of September 28, 2014, with members of his Christian group, conducted classes in the closed premises of the Bel Canto cafe. It was rented from the owner for this event. Later, the district and regional courts found Kolyasnikov guilty of organizing a public event without filing a notice of its holding (Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). He was fined 30 thousand rubles.

In 2015, Aleksey Kolyasnikov filed a complaint with the ECtHR. According to Kolyasnikov, four articles of the European Convention were violated against him: the right to a fair trial (Article 6 of the Convention), violations of freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9), freedom of expression (Article 10) and freedom of assembly and associations (Article 11).