9 August 2017
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
More than 180 individuals and communities have been brought to court in the year since "anti-missionary" punishments came into force on 20 July 2016. Forum 18's list of known cases documents the wide range of people and communities across Russia subjected to such punishments.
More than 180 cases to punish individuals and communities for violating Russia's "anti-missionary" restrictions are known to have reached court in the year since they came into force on 20 July 2016. Prosecutions under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Parts 3, 4, and 5 have steadily increased throughout this 12 month period. Activities as diverse as holding prayer meetings in private homes, posting worship times on a religious community's website, and giving a lecture on yoga have all been interpreted by police and prosecutors as "missionary activity", due to the broad definition now enshrined in the Religion Law (see a full analysis at F18News 8 August 2017 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2305).
Article 5.26, Part 3 punishes "Implementation of activities by a religious organisation without indicating its official full name, including the issuing or distribution, within the framework of missionary activity, of literature and printed, audio, and video material without a label bearing this name, or with an incomplete or deliberately false label".
Article 5.26, Part 4 punishes "Russians conducting missionary activity". Part 5 punishes "Foreigners conducting missionary activity" (see Forum 18's general Russia religious freedom survey http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2246).
Forum 18 found 181 cases against 129 individuals and 52 religious communities which reached court between 20 July 2016 (when the amendments entered legal force) and 20 July 2017. Of these, 133 resulted in initial convictions, with 130 fines being imposed. Of the foreigners prosecuted, 5 were ordered deported (though one of these had the deportation order overturned on appeal). More than half the regions in Russia have seen at least one prosecution. Russian citizens comprise the majority of defendants (see a full analysis at F18News 8 August 2017 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2305).
Russia has also imposed this legislation in Crimea, which it occupied in March 2014. Forum 18 found 27 administrative cases in the year of the "anti-missionary" punishments there, resulting in fines in 16 of the cases so far (see F18News 24 July 2017 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2299).
All prosecutions under Administrative Code Article 5.26, Parts 3, 4 and 5 known to have reached court between 20 July 2016 and 20 July 2017 are listed below, ordered by date of court hearing. The list is based on court decisions and court records seen by Forum 18. For a full analysis, see F18News 8 August 2017 http://www.forum18.org/archive.php?article_id=2305.
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- Known Article 5.26, Part 3 cases ("Implementation of activities by a religious organisation without indicating its official full name, including the issuing or distribution, within the framework of missionary activity, of literature and printed, audio, and video material without a label bearing this name, or with an incomplete or deliberately false label")
A fine of 50,000 Roubles (about 6,600 Norwegian Kroner, 710 Euros or 835 US Dollars) represents about six weeks' average wages for those in work or 15 weeks' average state retirement pension.
1) 10 November 2016
Name: Administrative Centre of the New Apostolic Church in Russia
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Donskoi District Magistrate's Court No. 245, Moscow
Circumstances: during Justice Ministry inspection of organisation's documents, it was found that the Centre was not using its full name in its activities, including in its contract with the Beeline phone and internet company, on its audio discs and magazine, and on its website
Appeal: none
2) 10 November 2016
Name: Sharypovo Jehovah's Witness community
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Sharypovo Magistrate's Court No. 164, Krasnoyarsk Region
Circumstances: Jehovah's Witness community held a members meeting for Bible study "without specifying its official full name" – monitoring by the inter-district prosecutor's office found that the building's sign read "Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall", rather than "Local religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses of the town of Sharypovo"
Appeal: unsuccessful – 19 December 2016, Sharypovo City Court
3) 10 November 2016
Name: Igor Osipenko
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Sharypovo Magistrate's Court No. 164, Krasnoyarsk Region
Circumstances: Jehovah's Witness community chair "committed an administrative offence in the form of inaction, as expressed in the implementation by the local religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses of activity (a members meeting for Bible study) without specifying its official full name" - monitoring by the inter-district prosecutor's office found that the building's sign read "Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall", rather than "Local religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses of the town of Sharypovo"
Appeal: unsuccessful – 22 December, Sharypovo City Court
4) 24 November 2016
Name: Jehovah's Witness community, Khabarovsk
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Industrial District Magistrate's Court No. 13, Khabarovsk
Circumstances: prosecutor's office inspection of Jehovah's Witness premises on 29 October found lack of signage or other information indicating official name of the organisation; representatives M.Yu. Tridtsatko and S.S. Sergeyev explained that between 2015 and October 2016 the building's facade had been undergoing repairs and argued that organisation carried out no activities during inspection – this was disregarded by judge; prosecution insisted that the sign was absent before repairs
Appeal: unsuccessful – 26 December, Industrial District Court
5) 28 November 2016
Name: Jehovah's Witness community of Zelenogorsk
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Zelenogorsk Magistrate's Court No. 30, Krasnoyarsk Region
Circumstances: FSB security service inspection of Jehovah's Witnesses' religious activities found that they were holding meetings for worship in rented premises without displaying their full official name
Appeal: unsuccessful – 18 January 2017, Zelenogorsk City Court
6) 16 December 2016
Name: Word of Life Pentecostal Church, Samara
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Soviet District Magistrate's Court No. 54, Samara
Circumstances: accused of not displaying full name on religious literature; church argued that literature sold by individual entrepreneur in same premises (local deaf society), who obtained it from separate Pentecostal organisation
Appeal: unsuccessful – 10 March 2017, Soviet District Court, Samara
7) 20 December 2016
Name: Salvation Army
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles plus confiscation and destruction of literature, incl. bibles
Court: Lenin District Magistrate's Court No. 4, Vladivostok
Circumstances: a prosecutor's office inspection of the community's premises found books and magazines without a stamp/logo showing the organisation's official full name
Appeal: by prosecution re. destruction order – 30 December, Lenin District Court; but destruction order lifted at request of prosecutor (also requested that literature not be confiscated, but this was denied)
8) 30 December 2016
Name: Vitaly Shmidt, pastor
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles plus confiscation of literature
Court: Lenin District Magistrate's Court No. 3, Ulyanovsk
Circumstances: Cornerstone Protestant church pastor accused of distributing religious literature without official stamp – the literature was left on a table for members to take as they wished, in the foyer of their rented premises; "anti-extremism" police officer claimed that non-members of the religious organisation were present at the meeting for worship and anyone could have picked up the literature
Appeal: unsuccessful – 8 February 2017, Lenin District Court, Ulyanovsk
9) 12 January 2017
Name: Salvation in Jesus Evangelical Church
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles
Court: Central District Magistrate's Court No. 2, Chita
Circumstances: community accused of distributing a brochure which did not display the full official name of the organisation
Appeal: sent for re-examination – 31 January 2017, Central District Court; acquitted on retrial – 10 February 2017, Central District Magistrate's Court No. 2, Chita
10) 19 January 2017
Name: Faith, Hope, Love Seventh-day Adventist Church
Punishment: 30,000 Roubles plus confiscation (but not destruction) of literature
Court: Central District Magistrate's Court No. 1, Chita
Circumstances: during a planned inspection of legal entities, the church submitted literature and newspapers to the regional Justice Ministry branch as part of information on its missionary activities – this allegedly did not bear the church's official full name or official stamp
Appeal: unsuccessful – 20 February 2017, Central District Court, Chita; supervisory appeal unsuccessful (returned without consideration) – 4 April 2017, Zabaikalsk Regional Court
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