Translated material
According to the laws of the Middle Ages
On August 2, the magistrate of the judicial section of the Central District of Sochi sentenced the local resident Viktor Knochevnov to a fine of 50 thousand rubles, finding him guilty under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Insulting the religious feelings of believers." Nochevnov was convicted of repost on his VKontakte page of seven images of Jesus Christ. Making a decision on Nochevnov’s guilt, the judge referred to the dogma of icon veneration, adopted by the seventh universal cathedral at the end of the VIII century.
Journalists became aware of this story from Alexander Popkov, a lawyer of the international human rights group of Agora, into which Viktor Khochevnov turned for help last weekend. In the near future, the court decision was appealed to a higher instance. Until it entered into force, Nochevnov will be under the subscription about the lower room and "proper behavior."
The Nechevnov case has become a new episode in a number of "religious affairs", which in recent years are investigated by the Sochi police. The most famous of them was the case of a collective reading of the Bible in a cafe , for which the pastor of the Church of Evangelical Christians Alexei Kolyasnikov was fined in 2014. Kolyasnikov’s case was widely started in July 2017 - after Russia sent answers to questions to the European Court of Human Rights on this occasion. The document prepared by the Russian Commissioner at the ECHR, Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia Mikhail Galperin, said that "reading the Bible in the cafe needs to be coordinated with the authorities in order to ensure the safety of participants in the preaching and visitors of the institution."
On June 2, 2017, the Lazarevsky District Court of Sochi recognized the former chairman of the Council of Elders of the Circassians of the Cherkessov-Shapsugs Ruslan Gvashev guilty of organizing an inconsistent campaign on May 21-on the day of memory of the Circassians, they gathered at the Holovinka, which was revered by the sacred tulip, where they made a prayer service and several rites.
Finally, on May 31, the Khostinsky court of Sochi fined 3 thousand rubles of local resident Sergey Baldanov , who is fond of Chinese medical gymnastics of Tsigun. Baldanova was accused of distributing among his students the book of the founder of spiritual practice Falungun Lee Hungzhi - although it was not included in Russia in the list of "extremist".
Viktor Knochevnov’s “caricature business” arose due to the publication of his collages on which the crucified Jesus Christ is placed in different situations, mainly related to sports-for example, hanging on the horizontal bar or crosses the finish line in the stadium. Most likely, the illustrations (or some of them) were taken from the photo project "Jesus everywhere" American illustrator David Soms. True, the lawyer Alexander Popkov says that the nights overwhelmed these images and accompanied his own comments, including obscene ones.
- Alexander, what is known about this case? What did you learn since Viktor Khochevnov addressed you?
- So far, there is little information. In addition to the sentence, we do not possess anything except his words. The bottom line is that the person was persecuted in criminal order, accused and condemned for laying out cartoons on Jesus on the VKontakte social network. These caricatures were connected with the image of it on sports equipment, on a horizontal bar, in a form similar to the form of the SS. Plus, these caricatures were accompanied by various satirical and obscene inscriptions. He took them from somewhere, including from other sources, and processed, remade, laid out.
One of the works of the David Soms project "Jesus is everywhere":
Jesus EVERYWHERE BY DALRAS DAVID Soames pic.twitter.com/nutugdlacm
- Igor Tikholaz (@dozvil) July 28, 2013
- By what article was the case initiated? What was Viktor Night -shaped accused of?
-This is just the article 148-“insulting the feelings of believers” (its editors were changed towards tightening after the Pussy Riot.-approx. RS) . There are no victims in the case, but the Sochi law enforcement officers in order to strengthen the prosecution and prove the insult of believers, attracted several leaders of local Sochi faiths - the Orthodox priest, the rabbi, the Muslim clergyman. All of them in court said that the actions of the night very strongly violate the feelings of believers. The feelings of believers were very much affected. Despite the fact that he had a not particularly readable account. It is clear that these caricatures could not see these people without a special assignment.
- Is it true that the dogma, which was adopted in the VIII century, appears in this case?
-Yes, that’s the point. It also caught us very much. This is a link to the decree of the seventh Ecumenical Council that sacred images of icon painting are established. This decision was mentioned at the testimony of testimony by the rector of the Prince-Vladimir Temple of Sochi Andrei Dubrovsky . In his opinion, this is evidence that it is impossible to insult, cannot be desecrated, you cannot joke over these images. The court gives this as one of the evidence.
- That is, from the testimony of the priest the words about the dogma of 787 migrated to the court decision?
- Yes. We saw this with our own eyes, the court accepts this as one of the types of evidence.
-Have you encountered before in your practice with something like that?
- In the Pussy Riot case there were references to universal cathedrals. Otherwise, I don’t remember something that we have this.
- Have you had to face Sochi with other "religious" criminal cases?
-I see that in Sochi there is some kind of increased abnormal excitability of our law enforcement officers against other religions that are not related to the Orthodox. We had condemned the Protestant pastor Kolyasnikov for the fact that he incorrectly spent his masses, did not notify the authorities that they were going to a cafe and reading the Bible. Just a couple of months ago, the next trial of the Circassians was subjected to their pagan beliefs. They gathered around their tulip wood and held a small ceremony. 100-200 people gathered who worship this cult. And the Adyghe elder read praise in the Adyghe language and some of his prayer. He was attracted for the illegal meeting that he did not notify and in no way this religious meeting did not issue. And one more thing: three girls were engaged in Chinese religious gymnastics in the Riviera Park. Police officers approached them. Then prosecutors, Chekists, appeared immediately. Girls were held accountable. One of them was allegedly found an extremist book, but in fact not prohibited. Now this case is considered in the appeal. All followers of other religions are persecuted. Moreover, the same group of prosecutors and employees of the FSB is working on these matters.
- Where does such a surge of "religious" affairs come from? This is a stick system, should you close the plan for this kind of affairs?
The same prosecutors and Ephesians appear in these matters
- It is quite possible. But in other regions this is not felt. Maybe they work specifically in this direction. A very interesting point in the case of Pastor Kolyasnikov and in the case of Chinese gymnastics. The same provocateur appears there - a girl who is introduced into these religious groups, and then gives the indications necessary for the investigation. In the case of gymnastics, she threw a book and ran away. With a difference of two years, the same girl who is neither a police officer, nor a law enforcement officer, her name Arina Kondratenko appears in two different matters. And there the same prosecutors appear, the prosecutor [Alexey] Milodiev, the same Ephesians, Chekists. Apparently, this brigade worked. And they like to work in this direction.
-Any of those passing on these cases was sentenced to detention? Or is it mainly fines?
- Mostly fines. The only thing is Pastor Kolyasnikov, who was assigned 30 thousand fine, in the end had to stop his activities. He was not allowed to engage in her in a cafe. He was forced to close him because he was told: "Close your business." He went to another community. He was also asked from there. The bishop said: "You will not be allowed to work here. Close." As a result, a person remained idle of his life, without work, without business. He is actually on the street. He has a very difficult life situation.
- The verdict to Victor spending the night, given that we are talking about caricatures on Jesus, and even with obscene abuse, at first glance it seems quite soft - 50 thousand rubles. Could give a "two -legged".
- Honestly, the article itself is not very difficult. It provides for up to two years in prison. Therefore, they usually do not give much. Everyone understands that to close, arrest a person for a picture looks completely awkward. What will this result in?!
- Now the court decision is appealed?
- We have not yet appealed the decision, because he turned to us only on Saturday. We have not yet seen business, we saw only the verdict.
- But he decided to appeal. He is not afraid, for example, that according to the results of appeal, the verdict can be tightened?
- He does not consider himself guilty. He was not going to insult anyone. Another question is that, of course, he fears some kind of reaction from the state, from the inadequate zealots of faith. But he is ready to stand up for himself.
- When Pussy Riot came to Sochi, these, as you call them, “inadequate zealots of faith” showed themselves in all its glory, beating the girls.
- Yes. Therefore, he himself is a little afraid of.
Beating the Pussy Riot group in Sochi, February 2014:
Priest Yakov Krotov , the host of the Radio Liberty program “From a Christian point of view”, explains: “Dogmat of icon reverence”, which is referred by the Sochi Court in the sentence to Victor the night, was not accepted at all in order to protect the images of Christ from blasphemy.
“The whole fight against blasphemy, going on behalf of the state, is complete nonsense. However, it is possible to build nonsense both into the square and the Cuba. Sochi process gives an example of delirium nonsense. The priest of one of the churches of Sochi said that the images of the Lord Jesus Christ, placed in a disrespectful context, were blasphemy, and referred to the dogmas about icon reverence. This is, first of all, the dogma of icon veneration does not indicate what images of the Savior are canonical and which is blasphemous about one thing: the images of the Lord Jesus Christ are permissible in principle, it is permissible to read everything! The text of the dogma is not even the word "blasphemy."
This dogma was directed against those who generally denied the possibility of image of the Son of God
The dogma gives an exhaustive definition of what is subject to veneration: "icons written by paints and from fractional stones and from another self -arranged substance." The virtual image is not an icon, even if it is a photograph of the icon. Moreover: on the collages the image of the crucified nurse of Jesus Christ crucified without a halo is given. That is, it is not the Lord Jesus Christ, but the image of the crucified in general. Accordingly, such an image cannot be offensive to the Son of God and believers in it at all. ”