On December 4, the Kalininsky District Court of St. Petersburg fined the local evangelical church “Awakening of Nations” 50 thousand rubles under the article on cooperation with an “undesirable organization” (Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code). The joint press service of the city courts reported this in a telegram; the case file is available on the court’s website.
According to information on the website, the case against the church was considered for the second time. The first protocol was received by the court on October 23; it was returned for revision due to “the preparation of the protocol and the preparation of other case materials by unauthorized persons.”
The court found that the church collaborated with the Christian organization "Covenant of Churches TCCN", which was declared "undesirable" in June. On August 8, a check on VKontakte or the Awakening Nations YouTube found a video from a church event in which a pastor preaches from a pulpit with the symbols of the “Testament of the Churches of the TSST”: “on the round shield in the center there is a profile of a bird of prey with an outstretched wing, the inscription with the symbol “G12 SPb”, which are placed together with the inscription “Awakening of the Nations”. At the same time, the court indicated that “Awakening Nations” was part of the “Covenant of Churches” until July 26, that is, the church stopped cooperating with the organization before the symbols were found.
A representative of the “Awakening Nations” noted at the meeting that the church stopped cooperating with the “Covenant of Churches” immediately after the latter was recognized as an “undesirable organization”; this statement was published on the church’s page on VKontakte. Church representatives removed all references to the organization, and later the specified symbol. It is unclear what exactly the “interaction” consists of, the church representative noted.
The court agreed with the official who compiled the protocol, who indicated that, despite the official statement, the church “continued to participate in the activities of an undesirable organization on the territory of the Russian Federation by posting videos with sermons containing the symbols of G12 SPB.”
- Since 2015, according to Russian legislation , foreign or international organizations that, in the opinion of the authorities, pose a “threat to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation, the defense capability of the country or the security of the state” can be recognized as “undesirable.” From 2021, organizations that cooperate with already recognized “undesirables” are also recognized as “undesirable.” Such organizations are prohibited from operating in the country, and a number of other restrictions are also imposed on them - for example, they are not allowed to distribute information materials in Russia. The decision on recognition is made by the Prosecutor General's Office in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of August 2023, there are more than 100 “undesirable organizations” on the Ministry of Justice register .
- For participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization, administrative liability is provided (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the maximum penalty is a fine of up to 15 thousand rubles for citizens), and with repeated participation, criminal liability (Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to four years). Article 284.1 also applies to financing or organizing the activities of an “undesirable” organization, in which case the punishment can be up to five and six years in prison, respectively.
- Human rights organization Amnesty International called the "undesirable organizations" law a way to "vilify independent NGOs, deprive them of funding and impose harsh penalties on their members." The law, according to human rights activists, is used “to combat dissent and stifle freedom of expression and independent civil society organizations in Russia.” The UN Human Rights Committee recommended that Russia repeal or revise legislation on “undesirable organizations.”