The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a declaration on freedom of religion in Russia

PACE calls on the Russian government to put an end to the persecution of religious minorities.

On October 13, 2017, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a declaration on freedom of religion in Russia. The declaration was signed by 28 deputies from 14 European states.

The authors of the declaration note that although the Russian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of religion, this right is under threat as the Russian authorities continue to maintain an atmosphere of intolerance, discrimination and persecution against religious minorities throughout the country. For example, the parent organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination that rejects violence, was recently banned as extremist by a decision of the Supreme Court.

Evangelical Christians, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists, Presbyterians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Scientologists and others are being persecuted in Russia, the declaration says, some of whom have been arrested pending trial under the 2002 anti-extremist activity law, although in fact, they are accused of belonging to peaceful religious movements and participating in their activities. The law on combating extremist activity marked the beginning of a disturbing trend - the use of repressive measures against civil society and "non-traditional for Russia" religious movements. The law was passed shortly after September 11, 2001 to combat terrorism, but it does not contain a clear definition of extremism, which puts almost any person or group of people at risk of political or religious persecution.

The declaration calls on the Russian government to put an end to these violations of religious minorities' right to freedom of religion. Sources

• Religious freedom in Russia. Written declaration No. 647 // Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 2017. 13 October.