Problems of implementing freedom of conscience in Russia in January – March 2017

Discrimination religious organizations and citizens on the basis of their attitude to religion

The upward trend noted by us in previous years "anti-sectarian" struggle was continued at the beginning of 2017. Still more often representatives of Protestant organizations and new religious movements.

The most significant event here was the repression regarding Jehovah's Witnesses. In January, the Moscow City Court confirmed the October the decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow and recognized as legitimate the warning about the inadmissibility of carrying out extremist activities, issued Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation to the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. In February by At the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation began an unscheduled control center check. According to the results of the inspection on March 15, the Ministry of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation with a claim for the liquidation of the Management Center Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and the ban on the activities of a religious organization as extremist. Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, the Ministry of Justice suspended activities of the Administrative Center and its constituent local religious organizations. On April 20, the Supreme Court liquidated the Administrative Center Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local organizations.

Before the start of the trial against The administrative center of several communities in the regions were fined for keeping and distribution of extremist materials. In particular, fines were imposed to Kislovodsk, Tula, Smolensk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsk, Gelendzhik communities. The community in Cherkessk was liquidated, and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation confirmed decision to liquidate the community of Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan.

continued persecution of believers for "illegal missionary activity" under the Yarovaya-Ozerov law. In March, in the Krasnodar Territory and the Oryol Region, for this Evangelical Christian Baptists were fined. In the Abinsky district of the Krasnodar Territory, the court fined five thousand rubles leader of a Baptist religious group, finding him guilty under part 4 Art. 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (implementation of missionary activities in violation of the requirements legislation on freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and religious associations) due to the fact that he did not submit a notification to the Ministry of Justice about the beginning activities of a religious group. IN Oryol region Uritsky district court under the same article fined five thousand rubles each of the three Baptists, for the spread of religious literature and inviting people to religious meetings without notifying the Ministry of Justice of the start of a religious group.

IN February, an illegal missionary case was initiated against leader of the Hare Krishna community in Yekaterinburg. The reason for it was the 24 December 2016, with the notification of the authorities, the New Year's procession of Hare Krishnas. Leader community at the same time was dressed in the costume of Santa Claus, and his assistants in costumes Snow Maiden. The leader of the community is charged with distribution of unmarked image of religious literature, although permission to conduct missionary work he had activities.

We add that in March the administration of the Zabaikalsky region sent to the heads of districts and urban districts of the region a letter with a call to pay attention to the revitalization of the activities of Pentecostals, Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses and urged not to cooperate with representatives of these religious organizations. And in the Federation Council in February, a working group to combat "destructive sects". Elena Mizulina became its head.

Representatives were also discriminated against "traditional" religious organizations. On January 27, the Central District Court of Sochi annulled permission for temporary residence in Russia of the chief rabbi of the city of Arya Edelkopf. In March, the Board of Appeal of the Krasnodar Regional Court supported this decision. The reason given for revoking the permit was that rabbi “by his actions creates a threat security of the Russian Federation" . But what is the threat, nor does the Migration Agency The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Krasnodar Territory, the court did not explain. The rabbi and his family lived in Russia for 16 years. On April 3, they left the country.

Often believers were able to resist discrimination, including through the courts. For violation of immigration law in January was detained and the rabbi of Moscow of the Hasidic synagogue "Among their own" Yosef Kherson, but Khamovniki district the Moscow court closed the case due to the lack of corpus delicti.

There is a case when it was possible to defend their rights accused of illegal missionary work. 18 January Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg terminated the proceedings Dmitry Ugai, accused of illegal missionary work for a lecture on yoga, read at the city festival "Vedalife" in October 2016. Representative The Ministry of Internal Affairs, on whose initiative the case was initiated, tried to appeal the decision about its termination, but the court refused to satisfy his complaint.

February 23 The European Court of Human Rights communicated the complaint of the leader of the Sochi group of Evangelical Christians “Community Christians" by Aleksey Kolyasnikov, who contested the fine for reading the Bible in a cafe, imposed on him in 2014.

March 6 Samara District Court of Samara dismissed the case in relation to the local religious organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Saints the last days (Mormons), accused under Part 2 of Art. 19.27 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (representation of deliberately false information during migration registration about a foreign citizen or false documents by the receiving party). In summer 2016, the Department for Migration of the Regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs saw violation in the fact that when registering foreign citizens the organization indicated an apartment as an address, while formally it should means "room". The court found this approach to be "merely formal" and decided to drop the case.

Conflicts around the construction of temples and the transfer of property to religious organizations

There is still tension around construction of churches, mostly Orthodox. Petersburg continued protests against the construction of a temple on the banks of the Matisov Canal. In February the initiative group handed over to the governor the signatures of more than two thousand citizens, wishing to see a polyclinic or a kindergarten at this place. Collection started in Tomsk signatures under the requirement to cancel the construction chapels in the park on Novosobornaya Square. Residents of Krasnoyarsk opposed the construction of an Orthodox church on the Strelka - between the Cable-stayed bridge and Krasnoyarsk Museum Center, wishing to preserve the embankment. The inhabitants of Pskov were dissatisfied with the construction of an Orthodox church without holding public hearings, and residents of Obninsk continued to protest against the construction of the temple near the Physical and Energy Institute named after A.I. Leipunsky.

Protesters against the construction of the "temple-on-water" in Yekaterinburg used non-traditional forms protest. In February, about a hundred people, holding hands, “embraced” the pond, next to with which construction is proposed. In March, shopping centers of the city appeared 2018 Atonement stylized flyers on one side leaflet depicts a temple-on-the-water under construction, and under it is a flooded wagon metro. Under the image there is an inscription: “ Directed by Mikhail Goloborodsky. Cast Igor Altushkin, Andrey Kozitsyn, Evgeny Kuyvashev. Screenwriter - Metropolitan Yekaterinburg and Verkhotursky Kirill . On the back - the text: " Film based on real events. Two friends, two billionaires. Their common dream a giant temple on an artificial island, but their pride can cost too much even for such rich people .”

In Vyazniki Vladimir region, local residents protested against the construction old believer church. Part of the protesters wanted to build a temple on the site microdistrict a polyclinic, a bathhouse or a bank branch, some of them took construction as " agitation of the Vyaznikovites to join a different faith ."

During the study period there were also several major conflicts related to the transfer of property Russian Orthodox Church. First of all, the situation around transmission of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, where protests have continued since last year. In the first three months of 2017, several promotions took place here against the transfer of the cathedral. After the action on January 28, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responding to the call of the speaker Zaks, even conducted a check to find out if this action hurt the feelings believers. The materials of the check were transferred to the Investigative Committee, but it did not found grounds for initiating criminal proceedings. Several deputies Legislative Assembly of the city tried to challenge the transfer order Cathedral, but the courts refused to consider their claims. In holding a referendum on transfers the election commission of St. Petersburg refused. Note that two deputies at once State Duma - Vice Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy and Vitaly Milonov, commenting on the events around Isaac, made anti-Semitic statements, hinting at the Jewish the origin of opponents of the transfer of the cathedral.

continued the conflict around the transfer of the puppet theater to the Russian Orthodox Church in Rostov-on-Don. In March it became known that the transfer, contrary to the position of the inhabitants, should be completed in 2019, while the new theater building is supposed to be built in the park "Friendship", which still needs to be transferred to another category of land in order to construction became possible. However, Governor Vasily Golubev promised that there would be no move until the theater was found a new building, " which will suit Rostovites, young spectators and creative team that works for children.

wide resonance caused a lawsuit on the transfer of the building of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIIRO). In November 2016, the arbitration court confirmed the right of the church to claim this building, the court of appeal in January 2017 confirmed this decision. By according to journalists, at the court session, the lawyer of the Moscow Patriarchate, abbess Ksenia (Chernega) stated that “the building scientific institute will be destroyed, a church will be rebuilt in its place . In March, the Federal Property Management Agency, the Federal Agency for Fishery and VNIIRO filed cassation complaints against decision to transfer the building of the Institute to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Abuses in anti-extremist policy

Anti-extremist legislation is often misapplied to religious organizations.

As before, excessively harsh sentences were handed down for involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir. To the accused in cooperation with Hizb ut-Tahrir, “terrorist” articles, but the sentences, perhaps, have become a little softer than before. For example, in February Privolzhsky district military court on the field session in Nizhnevartovsk recognized Ruslan Shamsutdinov, Rinat Bagaveev, Zaid (Eduard) Khusainov and Ildar Gabdrakipov guilty under Part 2 of Art. 205.5 (participation in the activities of a terrorist organization) and Part 1 of Art. 282 (excitement hatred) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced to suspended sentences and fines. Duration of terms not specified, fines are known to exceed 100,000 rubles. Since before sentence, all four convicts were kept in a pre-trial detention center, they were released in courtroom.

However, those sentenced 2016 for cooperation with Hizb ut-Tahrir to suspended sentences for residents Bashkiria to Rishat Gataullin and Rinat Mamaev, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in March tightened sentence and sent them to 4 years in a colony.

March in Tatarstan 13 criminal cases were opened part 1 and part 2 of Art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of the activities of a terrorist organization and participation in the activities of such an organization), in which large-scale searches were carried out in several districts of the republic, 15 people were detained, some of them arrested. Detentions of alleged Hizb members ut-Tahrir" were also held in the Crimea and in Moscow.

In Ufa at the end of March five people were convicted under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) for cooperation with existing but banned organization "Nurcular". They were assigned conditional sentences from 1 year 10 months to 4 years, and three of them are banned teaching activity for two years.