In Kabardino-Balkaria, Adventists were fined under the article on illegal missionary activity

In Kabardino-Balkaria, a justice of the peace fined the local religious organization the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church for 30,000 rubles because of a book on health. This was reported by Kavkaz.Realii with reference to Pastor Timofey Boronin.

The organization was found guilty under the article on the distribution of literature or printed materials without special marking as part of missionary activities (part 3 of article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

“According to the court, unidentified persons allegedly distributed unmarked religious literature near our prayer house,” Kavkaz.Realii quoted Boronin as saying. What kind of person is unknown. This is a book of general Christian direction about physical and emotional health. Such literature has indeed been published by Seventh-day Adventist Christians, but it has not been used for the last ten years.”

There were two witnesses from the police side at the trial, one of whom described the distributor of literature, but none of the parishioners fit this description.

“The witnesses did not hide the fact that they were interviewed by Sergei Alexandrovich Svetikov, an employee of the FSB department of Kabardino-Balkaria, who is not the first time trying to bring us to justice. From which archives and safes they got these old books, it’s hard for me to say, ”said the pastor.

In September, officers of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs searched Timofey Boronin's house, looking for extremist and unmarked literature. According to the pastor, the search was the revenge of the security forces due to the fact that the court acquitted him several times in administrative cases on illegal missionary activities.

• The Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations obliges religious organizations to add their full name to distributed materials; prohibits missionary activity in residential premises, and the missionary must carry permission from the general meeting of his religious group. Relevant additions were made to the law on July 6, 2016 as part of the Yarovaya package .