In Tatarstan, a Baptist pastor was fined for performing a baptism under an article about rallies

The Naberezhnye Chelny City Court fined the pastor of the Church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists "Renaissance" Leonid Povorov for 20 thousand rubles for conducting a baptismal ceremony in the Kama River. This was reported on the website of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists.

The court, which took place on November 23, found the pastor guilty under part 2 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (organization of a public event without filing a notice), considering that the man organized a mass gathering of people. They brought him to responsibility for the fact that, as stated in the statement of the Union, on July 29 the pastor performed a rite of baptism with believers in the Kama River. The publication chelny-biz.ru reports that, according to the materials of the case, Povorov also organized a mass event on September 25.

According to the newspaper, the pastor pleaded not guilty. At the meeting, his lawyer insisted that the event was not public, and that it did not put forward demands on political, economic and social life of the country. Baptism, according to the defense, was of a corporate nature, and, accordingly, it did not require approval.

Povorov was detained the day before the trial and arrested before the hearing. It is reported that he was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs. At the same time, the man had not received the summons before.

• In January, in the village of Tigil in the Kamchatka Territory, two followers of the International Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists were fined for street preaching. They were also found guilty under Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.