Translated material
The head of the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg was released from arrest
The St. Petersburg City Court did not extend the arrest of the head of the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg, Ivan Matsitsky, and changed his preventive measure to prohibit certain actions. This was reported in the telegram channel “United Press Service of the Courts of St. Petersburg”.
The investigation asked to extend Matsitsky’s arrest for three months under the pretext that “the activities of the lawyers disorganized the work of the investigative body and led to the fact that the defendants in the case were charged in different editions, they had to start all over again and be re-indicted,” the press service reports.
Matsitsky has been in pre-trial detention for more than two years, since June 8, 2017. He is accused of inciting hatred (clause “c” of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code), creating an extremist community (Part 1 of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code) and illegal entrepreneurship (clauses “a” and “b” of Part 2 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code). The investigation considers conducting paid courses without creating a legal entity to be illegal business activity.
In addition to Ivan Matsitsky, one of the leaders of the Church of Scientology, Anastasia Terentyeva, lawyer Konstantia Esaulkova (under house arrest) and executive director Galina Shurinova (under recognizance not to leave) are also involved in the case of the Church of Scientology. Accountant Sahib Aliyev, after pleading guilty in May 2019, was transferred to house arrest from a pre-trial detention center.
- Scientology is a religious movement created in the mid-20th century.
- The Memorial Human Rights Center recognized all the defendants as political prisoners.
- The SOVA Information and Analytical Center considers it unlawful to prosecute Scientologists for extremism. “Assertion of one’s own exclusivity is characteristic of any religion, and the persecution of Scientologists and the banning of their literature on this basis are unfounded,” the Owl website says .