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  1. Rising government restrictions have fostered an atmosphere of intolerance and discrimination against religious minorities and their individual members throughout Russia. International and legal standards mandate that religious minorities be treated fairly and without discrimination. But Russia’s misuse of the Extremism Law contravenes these standards. Its official actions cannot be countenanced under UN and OSCE standards, including the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Helsinki Accords. The international community should increase its pressure on the Russian government to reverse course and begin to respect the fundamental rights of individuals and communities. Perhaps a good place to start is to ask the Russian government to narrow its definition of “extremism” to violence or incitement to violence articulated in the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, which Russia has signed and ratified: 20 "Extremism" is an act aimed at seizing or keeping power through the use of violence or changing violently the constitutional regime of a State, as well as a violent encroachment upon public security, including organization, for the above purposes, of illegal armed formations and participation in them, criminally prosecuted in conformity with the national laws of the Parties. RUSSIA: INCREASING CRACKDOWN ON RELIGIONS
  2. RELIGIOUS STUDIES SCHOLARS GO ON THE OFFENSIVE Academics do not want to be instruments of persecution of believers by Roman Lunkin The situation involving the use of religious studies expert analysis as an instrument of persecution in Russia has become critical. In 2009, the academic community and thousands of believers were outraged by the appointment of the radical sect-fighter Alexander Dvorkin as the head of the Expert Council in the Russian Ministry of Justice. After that, expert analysis began to be used ever more often in order to liquidate various church movements or to recognize them as extremist and believers as extremists. Other dangers also appeared. Religious studies began being replaced by theology in departments of higher educational institutions and sect-fighters declared themselves to be religious studies scholars. It turned out that the problem is much deeper than disagreements among secular researchers and Orthodox sect-fighters; it is the problem of preserving pluralism in the religious life of Russia. How is one to act in conditions of chaos and excess? This question was contemplated by participants in the All-Russian Conference "Problems of religious studies expert analysis," organized by the Center for Religious Studies Research "Religiopolis." The leaders of the discussion were Professor Ekaterina Elbakian, the publicist Mikhail Sitnikov, and attorney Inna Zagrebina. Discussion participants included scholars from the entire country, from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg, and also lawyers of the Slavic Legal Center, Anatoly Pchelintsev and Vladimir Riakhovsky. The scholars put forward a whole series of recommendations for resolving the situation. --Strengthening the religious studies community by creating a professional organization, possibly with public licensing of experts. The community should also react effectively to offensive materials in news media and judge unprincipled expert analyses. Such was the expert analysis by Larisa Astakhova from Kazan; she concluded that the Church of Scientology was a nonreligious organization, as had been requested by law enforcement agencies and the Russian Ministry of Justice. Regret was expressed that after the conclusion of her academic career, Astakhova chose sect-fighting. --Publishing a textbook or scholarly resources for religious studies expert analysis, which would describe all methodological approaches, basic concepts and parameters of expert analysis, and legislation in this sphere. Sociologists and religious studies scholars also emphasized the importance of work on creating regional guides on religious organizations, which will help both the public and officials to use academic material in the event of illegal demands on the part of evangelism departments of the Russian Orthodox Church to limit the activity of one or another church. In connection with expert analysis, there also arose the urgent question of the personal responsibility of the scholar before the law and before religious communities. Many researchers noted the significance of objectivity and academic detachment from the object of investigation, which however seemed naive against the background of a number of disgraceful expert analyses. For example, the head of the Expert Council in the Russian Ministry of justice is not a religious studies scholar but a specialist in criminal law, T. Burkovskaia, who at the same time signs all expert analyses (for example, several dozen regarding churches and movements in Crimea). The Bible published by Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg was not recognized as the Bible by N. Kriukova, a mathematician by education. This same Kriukova considered the film "Innocence of Muslims" and a tee-shirt with the motto "Orthodoxy or Death" to be extremist. In the majority of cases, it turns out that religious studies analysis is used extremely arbitrarily because of the lack of clear rules. But in religious studies there cannot be such strict rules as in linguistic or technical expert analysis. Does this mean that it is necessary to generally reject it within the framework of judicial proceedings? If it were the case that in Russia the procedure for registration of religious associations were declarative, as in many countries (acquiring tax privileges is a separate issue), then religious studies expert analysis should be eliminated altogether. In the meantime, participation by researchers in judicial proceedings often saves churches from liquidation and believers from punishment. There are fewer and fewer such examples. Scholars are being made participants in the illegal anti-extremist policy of the authorities. Religious studies scholars have a professional interest in a corrected definition of extremism and extremist activity in law. Any word or assessment by a religious studies scholar may become grounds for crminal prosecution. As is the case of Jehovah's Witnesses, who have been found guilty for proclaiming the truth of their religion, which both the RPTs and Muslims do. The issue of new religious movements also is rather critical: what right does a scholar have to say that this society is nonreligious if all of its members consider themselves to be believers and pray to some god or prophet? How can one oppose those politicians and sect-fighters who consider any non-Orthodox society to be a "commercial cult," while earning money. That means that sooner or later in Russia there will also be devised ways, as in the countries of the European Union, to grant the status of a religious associaiton to all comers (it is not the government's business to ascertain the sincerity of the feelings of believing citizens). And if an association wishes to gain exemption from taxes, then it is necessary to conduct an expert analysis of doctrine and of the existence of religious activity. Despite the sharp conflict now, it is necessary to foresee future cooperation of the church and science and of religious studies scholars and theologians. It should be recognized that there is a space for open discussion between representatives of scholarship and the church, but only in Moscow. That is the church-wide graduate studies of the RPTs and St. Tikhon's Orthodox University. The basic portion of those who are studying religious movements in Orthodox dioceses or educational institutions are xenophobic and advocate against religious liberty and prohibit even those churches and groups that are registered in Russia (especially active in this regard is the Evangelism Department of the RPTs, when it is mission and preaching that this department is essentially not engaged in). Religious studies scholars are diverse people, with their own shortcomings, many of whom also are Orthodox, but now they have become an obstacle for a new anti-religious campaign. Researchers see only too well how close is the lexicon of sect-fighters to that of the soviet atheist Emelian Yaroslavsky. Russian parliament preparing restrictions on new religious groups WORKING GROUP FOR COMBATING SECTARIANISM TO BE CREATED IN STATE DUMA Deputies of the State Duma on Thursday at a session of the interfractional deputies' Group for Protection of Christian Values made a decision to create a working group for combating sectarianism in Russia, a report from the press service of the coordinator of the interfractional group, Sergei Gavrilov, says. Mikhail Markelov, a deputy from United Russia and a member of the interfractional group, noted in the session that at the present time sects are expanding their presence in various constituent elements (subjects) of Russia, and more and more new converts of these organizations are appearing. At the same time the legislation lacks a definition of "sect," and introduction of such a term and special law has both supporters and opponents. Markelov noted that "critics of the appearance of such a law appeal to the fact that there is no Supreme Court determination, and because of this it is impossible to adopt one." He said that because of the lack of such a definition, developers of a legislative idea against sects have often entered a dead end. "I have a suggestion to create a working group of members of our deputies' group and those deputies who already have introduced their own legislative initiatives intended to combat sects," Markelov noted at the session. Coordinators approved the creation of such a working group. "All of this is correct, but we need to work not only in the direction of developing a methodology for law enforcement agencies for identification and prevention of destructive sects that are connected not only with citizens' property interests, but we need to begin discussion of issues involving the manipulation of mass consciousness, including propaganda for anti-Russian activity," Gavrilov needed. "We recall the dangerous role played by sects in the revolution in Ukraine and the activity that they conducted for suppression of Orthodox interests in Ukraine now. I would hope that Mikhail Yurevich Markelov would head this group and we will provide him comprehensive support," the legislator also emphasized.
  3. WARNING ISSUED TO KALUGA JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES by Nikolai Akimov Late last year the prosecutor's office of the city of Kaluga conducted a verification of compliance with legislation on combating extremist activity of temporary structures—the stands with literature in the center of the city which have references to an extremist website on the Internet. During the verification on one of these stands, literature of several titles that have been ruled to be extremist and included in the appropriate federal list was discovered. In addition, in one of the books there was a reference to the website of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, which also has been ruled by court decision to be extremist. Therefore the prosecutor's office imposed an administrative fine on the leader of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and warned him about the impermissibility of violating the federal law "On combating extremist activity" and threatened that in the event of violation of federal legislation stricter measures of prosecutorial reaction might be adopted against him Kaluga's Jehovists have been handled more mildly. Recently the Belgorod provincial court, on a lawsuit from the prosecutor's office, found two of the largest local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses to be extremist and adopted a decision to liquidate them. The supervisory agency says that representatives of this cult "have violated the integrity of the family," and they have distributed texts with citations to forbidden literature. The reason for liquidation was refusals of blood transfusions by devotees of the organization, distribution of extremist literature, and encouragement of the break up of families. All of this, in the opinion of the court, were manifestations of extremist activity. The decision regarding liquidation of Jehovah's Witnesses organizations in two of the largest cities of the province—Belgorod and Stary Oskol—were made on the same day, 11 February 2016, and took effect immediately.
  4. EXPERTS DIFFER IN OPINION ABOUT LEGISLATIVE CONTROL OF PREACHERS RIA Novosti, 17 February 2016 A draft law defining in federal legislation the concept of missionary activity has evoked a mixed reaction among representatives of religious organizations and experts questioned by RIA Novosti. Some see in it a long-needed measure; to the contrary, others declare it to be in contradiction with the constitution of the Russian federation. The authors of the draft law introduced this week into the State Duma—the Arkhangelsk provincial assembly of deputies—want to supplement the existing law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" with an article entitled "Missionary activity." The initiators explain that in its current form the legislation does not adequately regulate the legal relations connected with the procedure for conducting missionary activity and it lacks in particular control of the activity of "missionaries, including those who have come from abroad and are preaching on Russian territory." "I remind you that Russia is a secular state, where all religious organizations have equal status. Their activity is regulated by the law 'On freedom of conscience,' into which it is proposed to introduce changes. I suppose that there already now is a negative conclusion by the government," Yaroslav Nilov, a deputy of the LDPR fraction and head of the duma's Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, told RIA Novosti. He said that this may be because when it has successfully gone through state registration a religious organization has the right "to implement the goals of its charter, which are guaranteed by the constitution." He said that such goals include the dissemination of the faith, conduct of educational events, implementation of canons, conduct of ceremonies, and "engagement in such activity as may be called missionary activity." Therefore, the deputy suggests, the government has considered that to prescribe in addition the concept of "missionary activity" in the law is "excessive." The news agency's interlocutor assured that the standing committee "has an obligation to discuss and to determine future prospects" of the legislative initiative. He also noted that a number of legislative assemblies have adopted similar regional laws. Position of Religious Organizations The Russian Orthodox Church has declared that it does not support the initiative of the Arkhangelsk deputies. The director of the Legal Service of the Moscow patriarchate, Hegumena Kseniia Chernega, reported that a similar draft law was prepared by the cabinet of ministers several years ago. The initiative for regulating missionary activity—which is first of all illegal—belonged, she said, not to the church but to the Ministry of Justice. "We rejected this idea since there were many subjective concepts," Chernega stated, explaining that at the time there was talk, for example, about problems in determining the affiliation of a person with one or another confession or who is a representative of a religious organization. "We are talking, in such a case, about the persons who act with authorization or who are leaders of religious organizations, clergy," the director of the Legal Service of MP explains. Chernega thinks that the constituent elements of the country [subjects] cannot be given the right to regulate missionary activity. This violates the constitution and "may seriously infringe the rights of citizens." The first vice-chairman of the Ecclesiastical Board of Muslims of Russia, Damir Mukhetdinov, told RIA Novosti the performance of missionary activity is nothing other than "the obligation of the true Muslim." He emphasized that this is "a very difficult topic," since, on one hand, one is talking about an attempt to combat preaching activity of "destructive sects and movements," and, on the other hand, this deals with questions of doctrine that require a definite point of view of theologians and religious leaders. "In such a case, we will have to change the religious imperatives themselves since after all the charters of the ecclesiastical boards of Muslims say that their purpose is to spread their religion, that is, to engage in missionary activity," Mukhetdinov thinks. In his view, legislative limits on missionary activity "will not be accepted by believing people," since they will take away from them one of the primary dogmatic functions: "to bear the word of God." Opinion of Experts In his turn, the senior scientific associate of the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leonid Siukiyainen, suggests that legislative regulating of the activity of missionaries "is possible in principle." "In the past 20 years there have been many situations which evoked the desire and necessity of adopting such legislative acts. They have been adopted in a number of constituent elements of the Russian federation. We know the situation that troubles the Russian Orthodox Church and we know many sensitive issues that are connected with Muslim religious organizations. Therefore I think that it may make sense to regulate this," the legal expert said. At the same time, he emphasized that the regulation should be accomplished without violation of provisions of the chief law of the country and not contradict relevant European documents on this topic that Russia also has signed. The necessity of adopting a law on the federal level was previously stated by the president of the Russian Association of Centers for the Study of Religions and Sects, Alexander Dvorkin. The religious studies expert explained that such a measure would be aimed, in the first place, not at sectarians but at organizations in whose name they are conducting their mission. He said that imprisonment of individual members of sects is "an extremely undesirable development of things," since sects "dream that their members would receive real prison terms," so that then they can "talk about persecution of religion in Russia." (tr. by PDS, posted 17 February 2016) TEXT OF AMENDMENT OF RELIGION LAW Introduced by Arkhangelsk provincial Assembly of Deputies Draft RUSSIAN FEDERATION FEDERAL LAW On introducing changes into federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" Article 1 To introduce into chapter II of the federal law of 26 September 1997 "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" a change, adding to it article 5.1 of the following contents: Article 5.1 Missionary activity 1. Missionary activity means informational and organizational activity of representatives of religious associations, and also of persons distributing religious literature and other items of religious significance, produced by religious associations, directly or indirectly intended for the dissemination of their teaching and religious practice on the territory of the Russian federation among persons of a different faith and/or nonbelievers. 2. A missionary is a person who conducts missionary activity on the territory of the Russian federation. 3. Informational missionary activity is activity of missionaries aimed at announcing, popularizing, and disseminating any religious views, notions, and religious practice by oral, printed, electronic, and other means. 4. Organizational missionary activity is activity of missionaries aimed at the creation of organized religious structures (associations), training of specialists, organizing and conducting religious events, and creation of other conditions for accomplishment of missionary activity. 5. Religious associations have the right to conduct missionary activity. The procedure for conducting missionary activity by a religious association on the territory of a subject [constituent element] of the Russian federation is established by legislation of a subject of the Russian federation. Article 2 The present federal law becomes effective from the day of its official publication. V.V. Putin, President of the Russian federation Moscow, Kremlin (tr. by PDS, posted 17 February 2016) Russian original posted on official site of State Duma, 15 February 2016 http://ria.ru/religion/20160217/1376279891.html
  5. IN BELGOROD REGION JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CONGREGATIONS FOUND TO BE EXTREMIST by Vsevolod Inyutin, Kommersant (Belgorod) 12 February 2016 http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/2913707 On the basis of a lawsuit from the prosecutor's office, the Belgorod provincial court ruled that two of the largest local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses are extremist and issued a decision to liquidate them. The oversight agency said that representatives of this cult "violated the integrity of the family," and they distributed texts with citations to forbidden literature. Representatives of the organization promise to challenge the decisions of the court, which in their opinion were based on unreliable testimonies from a person who supposedly was rewarded by the Russian Orthodox Church "for struggle with sectarians." Experts do not see legal reasons for prohibiting the Belgorod Jehovists. The decisions for the liquidation of the organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in the two largest cities of the province—Belgorod and Stary Oskol—were made on the same day, 11 February, and they took effect immediately. According to information from the press service of the provincial court, both congregations were ruled to be extremist and their activity was found to be in violation of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations." An official representative of the provincial prosecutor's office, Olga Moiseikina, said that personnel of the agency proved in court that Jehovists "violate the integrity of the family." They produced as examples complaints from school teachers who described how a Jehovist mother "beat [her children] with a willow branch and set them in a corner" and forced them to follow the teachings of the Witnesses. She also argued with the teacher that they should not attend classes in Orthodox culture which are practically obligatory in Belgorod province. "A woman also appealed to the prosecutor's office, whose Jehovist grandaughter had registered her in a home for the elderly. The activity of this organization led to conflicts within the family because of religious disagreements," Mrs. Moiseikina summed up. She said that the Witnesses also provoked public discontent. Residents of Stary Oskol and a neighboring village also appealed to the agency and asked to stop the activity of Witnesses missionaries, who claimed "that their religion is most correct." However the agency considers that the most egregious thing is that several Jehovists refused blood transfusions, which ended in their death. "After an auto accident, a man was brought to the hospital, and his relatives, who attended meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses, refused blood transfusion in writing. A similar thing happened with a woman who presented at the emergency room with poisoning. In both cases, the outcome was fatal. In several other cases, doctors either managed to persuade the patients to have a transfusion or in the end it was not required," the representative of the prosecutor's office reported. In addition, ministers of the cult were found in possession of literature with references to prohibited texts and websites, especially the official portal of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It was these arguments that were determinative for the court that the provincial prosecutor's office labored to designate. The Russian representation of Jehovah's Witnesses intends to challenge the liquidation of the congregations in the Supreme Court. "The decisions of the court are based on unreliable evidence. For example, the testimony of a young man named Sukhobrus. He maintained that he visited a Jehovah's Witnesses church and there he was given extremist materials. Who it was and when he was not able to say. Meanwhile, lawyers discovered on the Internet a photograph in which Sukhobrus was receiving an award "for struggle with sects" from a local, highly-placed priest of the Russian Orthodox Church," the press secretary of the Russian representation, Ivan Belenko, told Kommersant. Mr. Belenko emphasized that the prosecutors "did not introduce any evidence regarding the organizations themselves," but they described for the court only "physical persons who were not members in them." "In any case, the court liquidated only two specific legal entities but it did not forbid people to confess their faith, as the Russian constitution guarantees," he added. The head of the SOVA Center for News and Analysis, Alexander Berkhovsky, called Jehovah's Witnesses "one of the religious organizations that have suffered most" in Russia. "Back in 2009 they were banned in Taganrog. There the consequence was even a criminal trial. Adherents of this cult continued to assemble and law enforcement officials took this as the continuation of activity of a prohibited organization. Much of the Witnesses' literature has been ruled by courts to be extremist, and recently at the border a bunch of their books were seized—this was a translation of the Bible, which was not just that of the Jehovists but also the synodal version," Mr. Berkhovsky explained. In his opinion, the prosecutors did not identify legal grounds for finding the congregations to be extremist. "Almost all religions of the world consider their teaching to be uniquely correct. The Jehovists have not written anywhere that it is necessary to divorce if a husband or wife professes a different religion. In addition, the law does not in any way forbid reference to extremist literature and all citizens regardless of their convictions have the right to refuse medical aid," he explained. The expert does not believe that the Jehovah's Witnesses will succeed in the Supreme Court: "Nobody has yet managed to beat back such claims once they have been confirmed by a court." Jehovah's Witnesses in northern Russia lose appeal in court ARKHANGELSK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DID NOT SUCCEED IN CHALLENGING PROSECUTOR'S WARNING SOVA Center for News and Analysis, 10 February 2016 On 10 February 2016, the Arkhangelsk provincial court ruled the warning of the prosecutor's office about the impermissibility of extremist activity, issued to the Arkhangelsk local organization of Jehovah's Witnesses on 11 June 2015, to be legal. The warning was issued after FSB personnel conducted a series of searches in the premises of the Kingdom Hall and in Arkhangelsk believers' apartments. The agency reported that as a result, about 400 copies of prohibited literature were confiscated. The congregation originally tried to challenge the warning in district court and then filed an appeal in provincial court, but it also turned down the appeal. We note that the head of the congregation, Alexander Parygin, who recently was fined for distributing prohibited literature, himself filed in the Ministry of Justice an application for the liquidation of his organization, in October 2015. We recall that we regard the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses and the ban of their texts under the guise of combating extremism to be religious discrimination. HEAD OF ARKHANGELSK JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES FINED SOVA Center for News and Analysis, 4 February 2016 Alexander Parygin was fined on basis of article 20.29 of Code of Administrative Violations of Law. It was reported on 4 February 2016 that the October district court of Arkhangelsk on 22 January 2016 found the head of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, "Central. Arkhangelsk," Alexander Parygin, guilty of possession of extremist literature for the purpose of mass distribution (article 20.29 of Code of Administrative Violations of Law). It was reported that he was sentenced to a fine of 1,500 rubles. This was not the first case of prosecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses in Arkhangelsk. Thus in April of 2015, religious literature was confiscated in the premises of the congregation, and in October 2015 the same October court of Arkhangelsk fined a member of the congregation on the basis of article 20.29. After this, Parygin reported that he had sent to the Ministry of Justice an application for self-liquidation of the city's organization. In December, Igor Orlov, the acting governor of Arkhangelsk province, stated that he intends to "delegalize" the Jehovah's Witnesses in the region. [see Russian governor threatens Jehovah's Witnesses, December 7, 2015] We consider that persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses and the ban of their texts for extremism are illegal and we view this as religious discrimination. Russian governor threatens Jehovah's Witnesses HEAD OF ARKHANGELSK PROVINCE INTENDS TO "DELEGALIZE" JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES SOVA, 7 December 2015 http://www.sova-center.ru/religion/news/harassment/discrimination/2015/12/d33393/ The acting governor of Arkhangelsk province said in an interview with an Orthodox publication that the government and church together should counteract "sects" and that the Arkhangelsk authorities are preparing to work for the prohibition of the Jehovah's Witnesses. On 7 December 2015, the website of the Arkhangelsk diocese published an interview with the acting governor of Arkhangelsk province, Igor Orlov. In particular, in the interview the governor reported about work being conducted "in order to delegalize the Jehovah's Witnesses in Arkhangelsk province." He recalled that Jehovah's Witnesses have been banned in several regions and he confirmed that Arkhangelsk authorities are "going along the very same road." "A person may worship Perun or whomever he wants, but he should not cause harm to others and force them to commit illegal acts. But only within the bounds of the law can one demonstrate that one or another organization does not comport with the interests of society and the state. This process is always complicated, but work is continuing," the governor said. In the same interview, I. Orlov declared that "governmental authority should treat with respect all confessions and beliefs, if they bear a constructive character with respect to society." "To treat with respect the faith of a person is the clear duty of the government. But at the same time there also is a second duty: along with the church to oppose destructive forces that destroy human souls. Sects and all possible pseudoreligious movements represent a system of the destruction of the inner world of a person. The government should not permit that." ARKHANGELSK JEHOVISTS DECIDE TO SELF-LIQUIDATE 29.ru, 29 October 2015 The leader of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, "Central. Arkhangelsk," Alexander Parygin, sent to the provincial division of the Ministry of Justice of the RF an application for the self-liquidation of the organization. The regional anti-sectarian center "Civil Security" reported that the request was made on the eve of a session of the October court of Arkhangelsk on 30 October. At it instances of the distribution of extremist literature by Jehovists will be considered. Civil Security noted that the prosecutor's office of the region has already issued to the leaders of the Arkhangelsk and Kotlas Jehovists a warning about the impermissibility of extremist activity. In the opinion of specialists of the center, self-liquidation with subsequent registration of a new legal entity with a different name is nothing other than an attempt to escape accountability. Jehovah's Witnesses is an international religious organization of a pseudo-Christian movement. Many Russian analysts and religious studies experts consider the Jehovah's Witnesses to be a totalitarian sect. They maintain that being among Jehovists substantially increases the risk of developing psychiatric illnesses and disorders, including severe ones. The number of adherents of the cult in Arkhangelsk province is more than 2,500, of which approximately 1,000 are in the provincial center.
  6. Jehovah's Witnesses > WTBTS of Pennsylvania > Archive of Publications > 2016 C.E. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Russian authorities have increasingly resorted to fabricating evidence to justify charges of extremism against Jehovah’s Witnesses. This video examines three such incidents and what they mean for freedom of worship in Russia.
  7. STARYI OSKOL RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES LIQUIDATED by Evgeny Filippov BelPressa, 10 February 2016 http://www.belpressa.ru/news/news/starooskolskuyu-religioznuyu-organizaciyu-svidetelej-iegovy-likvidiruyut12001/ The Belgorod provincial court ruled that the association does not conform to the requirements of the law. Today the concluding session on the administrative lawsuit of the prosecutor of Belgorod province in defense of the interests of the RF for the liquidation of the Staryi Oskol organization of Jehovah's Witnesses occurred. The court ruled that it does not comply with the requirements of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious association." The organization must be liquidated and removed from the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities. The decision of the court is to take effect immediately. Lawyers for the defendant did not agree with the decision that was made, and they will appeal it in the judicial college for administrative affairs of the Supreme Court of the RF. Today the lawsuit of the district prosecutor for finding the Belgorod religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses and its liquidation and removal from the Uniform State Register of Legal Entitles will be considered. The result of the session will be learned later. PROVINCIAL COURT BANS ACTIVITY OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ORGANIZATION OF CITY OF BELGOROD by Evgeny Grebnik Komsomolskaia Pravda (Belgorod), 11 February 2016 http://www.bel.kp.ru/online/news/2304125/ On Thursday, 11 February, the provincial court issued a decision finding the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses of the city of Belgorod extremist and not in compliance with the requirements of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations." By the court's decision, it must be liquidated and removed from the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities. The prosecutor of Belgorod province filed a lawsuit in court in defense of the interests of the Russian federation. We recall that a day before this, a similar decision was issued with respect to the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses of the city of Stary Oskol. The decisions for the cessation of activity of said organizations are to take effect immediately. Within one month they may be appealed in the judicial college for administrative affairs of the Supreme Court of the Russian federation. DECISION TO LIQUIDATE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ORGANIZATIONS REGISTERED IN BELGOROD AND STARY OSKOL MADE ON BASIS OF LAWSUITS OF BELGOROD PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR Official website of office of prosecutor of Belgorod province, 11 February 2016 http://www.belproc.ru/news/1507/ Today, 11 February 2016, an administrative lawsuit by the prosecutor of Belgorod province for finding the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Belgorod to be extremist and liquidated was granted by decision of the Belgorod provincial court. Yesterday the provincial court issued a decision on the administrative lawsuit of the provincial prosecutor for liquidation of the local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Stary Oskol. In the trial the prosecutor's office presented to the court evidence containing information about violations committed by the organizations connected with the distribution of materials of extremist contents (promoting the superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of religious affiliation or attitude toward religion) and other violations for which the federal law "On combating extremist activity" provides accountability. Eyewitnesses were questioned and documents were examined which gave evidence about encouraging members of the organization to refuse, on the basis of religious motives, medical aid for persons who were in life-threatening condition and about destruction of family and kinship relations on grounds of religious differences. Also the court established that the said organizations violate the requirement of the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations." The organizations must be liquidated and removed from the Uniform State Register of Legal Entities. The court announced that the decisions regarding prohibition of the activity of the religious organizations take effect immediately. DOCTORS IN COURT: "JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DIED AFTER REFUSING BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS" Moia Reklama, 8 February 2016 http://www.moyareklama.ru/%D0%91%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/299437 In the Belgorod provincial court, medics described the death in Stary Oskol State Hospital of patients who refused blood transfusions. A doctor toxicologist reported how a woman from Stary Oskol was poisoned by mushrooms and forbade doctors to transfuse her blood and she died in torment from necrosis of the liver. Today, doctors from the Stary Oskol State Hospital, residents of the city whom Jehovists invited to their meetings, and members themselves of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses spoke out in provincial court at a regular session in a case about the liquidation of the Stary Oskol congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. As Moia Reklama has already reported, a case about the liquidation of the Belgorod and Stary Oskol congregations of Jehovists is now being reviewed by the provincial court. Religious leaders are accused of distributing literature that has been ruled to be extremist. They are also talking in the trial about how their activity negatively impacts family relations and may even lead to the death of adherents. In the brochures that adherents distribute in meetings of said organization there were discovered signs of extremism. The prosecutor of Belgorod province filed in court [a petition?] against the religious leaders, demanding the closing of two branches of the organization. In the trial Jehovists were asked what kind of literature was given to them in the meetings and whether they contained calls for religious strife and destruction of the family, and whether they would accept blood transfusion in the event of need. These people answered that such a procedure is prohibited and they would refuse it. Two doctors were summoned into court as witnesses in order to learn whether religious convictions have affected the state of health of Jehovist patients and whether they could be the cause of the death of patients. A toxicologist from the Stary Oskol city hospital described how in 2001 a man and his wife who had been poisoned by toadstools were brought to her department. The husband, who was in critical condition, immediately had a blood transfusion in order to cleanse his organism from toxins. But the woman, who felt better than her spouse, refused hemosorption and plasmapharesis. "The patient was conscious and she herself signed documents refusing blood transfusion. An attorney visited her and persuaded the Jehovist not to consent to these medical procedures and he promised to move her to Moscow where there is a hospital with equipment that permits cleansing the organism of poison without blood transfusion. The husband, who is not a member of the congregation, tried to persuade his wife to do everything that the doctors were recommending, but she was unmoved. The lawyer, who promised help, did not visit the next day. The woman was not moved to the capital hospital. In the end, she died from necrosis of the liver. "At the last moment, the woman nevertheless agreed to one of the procedures, but it was already too late. In principle, members of the congregation could have moved her to the capital by air ambulance, or have brought other equipment into our hospital which permits cleansing the organism without transfusion. But they did not do this, although the lawyer had promised. In our turn, we were not able to do anything, since we treat with the equipment that we have. And in our city hospital it is possible to remove poison from an organism only by means of pumping the stomach and transfusing blood. This incident made a very strong impression on me. After all, I could have helped this woman at the time, but I was not able to. She refused the transfusion and she died in torment, being conscious all the time," the doctor toxicologist related this sad story. Yet another Stary Oskol medic described the death of a Jehovist patient after refusing blood transfusion. The man was involved in an accident. Doctors did a serious operation on him, after which he died. "The patient had more chances to survive if a transfusion had been done on him, but an operation was not done because of extremely low hemoglobin," the doctor concluded. A man was also questioned in court who had nearly become a member of the congregation. The 33-year-old citizen of Stary Oskol described how he and his spouse were approached on the street by a preacher who offered brochures with articles of religious contents. The man stated that the new acquaintance described to him how it was possible to visit the prohibited website of the Jehovists to which Roskomnadzor had blocked access. A little bit later the Stary Oskol citizen learned that the literature that the preachers had offered to him had also been declared extremist. His wife reported to the police and described for the guardians of order what had happened. In his turn, the Jehovists' attorney Anton Omelchenko asked how long the man had cooperated with the FSB. When the judge overruled the question, noting that it had nothing to do with the case, the lawyer rephrased the same question and tried to get an answer from the man. When the judge forced Omelchenko to stop the talk about the FSB, he suddenly asked the witness what his faith was, stating that his beard gave a sort of hint of his religious confession. The judge again overruled the question and threatened to remove the lawyer for impertinent questions. The Jehovists' attorney Alexander Filin behaved more properly and did not pose questions regarding the external appearance of witnesses. The Jehovah's Witnesses' defense tried to insist on the participation in the trial of a religious studies expert, who would be able to describe the activity of the organization as a whole, but the judge rejected the petition, noting that it had nothing to do with the present case. Jehovists speaking in defense of the congregation also came to the trial. A woman resident of Stary Oskol described how, thanks to this religious organization, she discovered for herself much that was new and was able to improve relations within her family. "I previously held feminist views and even wanted to divorce my husband, and now I have wholeness in the family. I decided to sacrifice my career and quit work in order to care for the children and be engaged in their upbringing. We have no conflicts with relatives and my parents, who are Orthodox. We care for the children and they study well and are praised in school," the 37-year-old woman declared. Her husband, confirming that he does not attend Jehovists' meetings but he supports them, spoke in defense of the congregation and gave assurance that he and his wife live quite remarkably and resolve conflicts in a peaceful way. And their children, although they are forbidden to celebrate birthdays, supposedly live busy lives, play with peers, and attend religious meetings completely voluntarily, where nobody forces them to go, according to the woman. It should be noted that a large portion of Jehovists who were summoned to court did not want to talk with the press. Only one of the residents of Oskol, who identified herself as Natalie Emelianenko, agreed to explain why she had come to the session. "I want to stand up for God. There is nothing bad in our congregation. We live compatibly, although I became a believer and my husband did not. Our family only became stronger from this. As regards blood transfusion, I would not want to do it because they may use contaminated instead of normal blood. And now there are alternative methods of treatment," Natalie declared confidently. In response to a question what she and her relatives would be able to do in a situation where it was impossible to avoid a transfusion, the woman could not explain and she declined entirely to answer. Her friend Elena (she declined to give her surname) came up to help her. The women began describing together how they had joined the religious organization and became Jehovists, but they did not answer inconvenient questions. The citizens of Oskol declared that they had spoken in the trial and hoped that they could be able to save the congregation from liquidation. How many more sessions in the case of the liquidation of the Belgorod and Stary Oskol congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses there will be is still not known. Two sessions are scheduled for this week in provincial court at which several more witnesses are supposed to speak for each side. It is quite possible that a decision in the case for liquidation of the Belgorod Jehovist congregation will be made on 11 February. BELGOROD JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES APPEAL DECISION ON LIQUIDATION OF TWO RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT Portal-credo.ru, 11 February 2016 http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=news&id=118396 The decision on the cessation of the activity of the organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgorod province has not taken effect, but until the final verdict of the Russian Supreme Court, their activity must be suspended. At the same time, this decision does not signify a ban on the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgorod and Stary Oskol, the press service of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia reported on 11 February. Yesterday, 10 February, the Belgorod provincial court issued a decision for the liquidation of the local religious organization of JW in the city of Stary Oskol, which at the time of liquidation had 11 members. On 11 February, a similar decision was issued regarding the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses of the city of Belgorod. The court ignored the position of the European Court for Human Rights, stated in a ruling of 10 June 2010 in the case "Religious society of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Moscow, et al. v. the Russian federation." The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia expresses its worry that 11 Jehovah's Witnesses from Stary Oskol and 11 of their fellow believers from Belgorod have been subjected to religious discrimination. The court effectively has not permitted them to present evidence testifying to the contrived nature of the accusations advanced by the prosecutor.
  8. Foreign and defence ministers of the leading international states are meeting in Munich and Brussels following the collapse of the latest round of peace talks
  9. Large-scale military drills across south-west Russia intended to test the troops' readiness amid continuing tensions with the West President Vladimir Putin has scrambled thousands of troops and hundreds of warplanes across southwestern Russia for large-scale military drills intended to test the troops' readiness amid continuing tensions with the West. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that military units were put on combat alert early on Monday, marking the launch of the exercise that involves troops of the Southern Military District. Russian soldiers parachute as part of military drills in the Kostroma region The district includes troops stationed in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as well as forces in the North Caucasus and southwestern regions near the border with Ukraine. Shoigu said the manoeuvres will also engage airborne troops and military transport aviation, as well as the navy. He noted that the drills are intended to check the troops' ability to respond to extremist threats and other challenges. According to Shoigu, who spoke at a meeting with the top military brass, the war games would include redeployment of air force units to advance air bases and bombing runs at shooting ranges. The manoeuvres will test the troops' mobility, with some being deployed to areas up to 3,000 kilometres (1,860 miles) away, the military said. Russian soldiers parachute as part of military drills in the Kostroma region Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said in a statement that up to 8,500 troops, 900 ground weapons, 200 warplanes and about 50 warships will be involved in the drills. The exercises are the latest in a series of major drills intended to strengthen the military's readiness. They have continued despite the nation's economic downturn. Even though a drop in global oil prices has drained the government's coffers and helped drive the economy into recessions, the Kremlin has continued to spend big on the military, funding the purchase of hundreds of new aircraft, tanks and missiles. Russian soldiers take part in military drills in the Kostroma regionhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/12149293/Vladimir-Putin-puts-Russian-troops-on-high-alert-as-part-of-massive-military-drills.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
  10. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday said Russia had "some constructive ideas" about the implementation of a ceasefire in Syria. Peace talks with Moscow and Damascus were suspended several days earlier when the secretary accused Moscow and Damascus of seeking a military solution to the conflict rather than a political one.
  11. Russian bombers targeted military and intelligence installations in 2013 war game that caught Swedish airforce unprepared Two Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bombers escorted by four Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighters crossed the Gulf of Finland and came within 24 miles of Swedish territory off the island of Gotland, 100 miles from Stockholm, on March 29, 2013. They veered off after apparently completing dummy bombing runs against targets believed to include a military base in southern Sweden and the headquarters of Sweden’s signals intelligence agency outside Stockholm. The incident caused controversy in Sweden at the time because the Swedish military was caught unprepared and had to rely on Danish airforce jets, operating as part of a Nato’s Baltic air policing mission, to respond. Nato declined to comment further on the incident, saying it has “nothing to add” to the statement in the report. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/12139943/Russia-simulated-a-nuclear-strike-against-Sweden-Nato-admits.html
  12. Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, says that Russia's bombing campaign will continue until "Terrorist organisations" are defeated. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
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