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History of Scientology as extremism case

"EXTREMISM IN SCIENTOLOGY SOUGHT FOR TWO YEARS"
by Mikhail Smilian, Maria Rogacheva
Gazeta, 22 April 2010

The lectures of the founder of Scientology, Ron Hubbard, have been ruled extremist and will be banned in Russia. In order to reach such a decision, the Surgut court required the conclusion directly of two expert analyses, and the examination in this case lasted for two years.

The Surgut city court of Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district on Wednesday, 21 April, ruled on the suit of the Surgut transport prosecutor's office that the lectures of the founder of the teaching of Scientology, the fantasy writer Ron Hubbard, are extremist. The examination of Hubbard's book and disks with his speeches began back in 2008, an aide to the prosecutor of the Surgut transport prosecutor's office for relations with the news media, Irina Shiriaeva, told Gazeta.

Dual examination

Everything began with a report from customs that called attention to 15 parcels with suspicious literature that arrived from USA.  "The books and disks were addressed to several private persons living in Surgut. What they intended to do with them is unknown to us. Customs officials did not pass the boxes and the prosecutor's office joined this story. We ordered an investigation on the topic of extremist contents," Shriaeva explained. As a result, the religious study council of the governor's office of Yugra came to the conclusion that distribution of these materials was impermissible since, according to the official formulation, "they undermine traditional spiritual foundations of the lives of citizens of the Russian federation." In particular, the ban fell on Hubbard's lectures "Factors. Delight and Regeneration of Existence" and "Congress of the Association. Communication. Freedom and Capability." On the basis of this conclusion an official of the prosecutor's office filed in court a request to find the works of the founder of the teaching of Scientology extremist. However the court did not agree with his conclusions and ordered a new psycho-linguistic expert analysis. This time specialists concluded that the materials presented contain ideas that justify violence.

"They contain both overt and covert calls for social and religious strife, for the propaganda of exclusivity, the superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of the identity of his social and religious affiliation and attitude toward religion," Shiriaeva quotes the conclusion of the expert analysis, which in the end persuaded the court.

In addition, according to Shiriaeva, in Hubbard's works were discovered "calls for obstructing the legal activity of state organs, in particular, judicial and law enforcement agencies, and for committing crimes motivated by ideological and religious hatred." The Surgut prosecutor's office promises to see to the implementation of the court's decision.

Scientologists fined Russia

The Scientology church of Surgut was first registered in 1994 as a nongovernmental organization, and then it was abolished. Its founders tried to register the organization as a nonreligious institution in 1999, but were refused twice. In August 2000 they filed an application for registration of the church as a local religious organization, but the authorities again said "no."

Then the Scientologists filed suit in the European Court for Human Rights. This happened twice, in 2001 and 2003. The suits said that the Russian authorities had violated articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention for Protection of Human Rights ("freedom of thought, conscience, and religion and freedom of expression of opinion") and article 11 (freedom of assembly and association"), as well as article 14 ("discrimination").

Strasbourg sided with the plaintiffs and ruled that Russian authorities had violated article 9 of the Convention on Human Rights in the light of article 11, and required Russia to pay 10,000 Euros for causing moral damage and another 10,000 Euros as compensation for court expenses.

30 years outside the law

We note that British diplomats three decades back gathered evidence that Ron Hubbard was a fraud. To be sure, this became known only in August of 2009. According to information obtained by The Daily Telegraph in the British National Archives, Hubbard awarded himself a doctor's degree. Nevertheless, at the present time Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta, and other Hollywood stars number themselves among the adherents of Hubbard's teaching. (tr. by PDS, posted 22 April 2010)

Russian original posted on Interfax-religiia site, 22 April 2010

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Ukrainian evangelicals resist politicians' attempts to use them

COUNCIL OF EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF UKRAINE DECLARES ENTANGLEMENT OF CHURCHES IN POLITICS IMPERMISSIBLE
Institute of Religious Freedom, 21 April 2010

The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine (SEPTsU) published a declaration which expressed its position on the role of the church in society and its relations with politics. In this document the heads of protestant churches expressed their uneasiness in connection with attempts by individual politicians to use the authority of SEPTsU and of evangelical protestant church for their political purposes, the institute of Religious Freedom reports.

"It is an impermissible practice when during religious worship services, in meetings with local religious leaders, and in communications for news media, politicians or other outsiders declare that they speak in the name of the Council  of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine, as an inter-church institution, or abstractly speak of the support for their political projects on the part of the largest evangelical protestant associations, which essentially deceive believers and all of society," the SEPTsU declaration says.

The document notes:  "The church, as a spiritual institution of civil society, is called to be the conscience of the nation and to defend high moral standards, without taking recourse to political activity at the same tim, which is prohibited by legislation of Ukraine."

The leaders of protestant churches also declared:  "Neither in the format of SEPTsU nor individually are we authorized to represent or to provide support to any individual, policy, or political movement."

"Church services and pastors' pulpits must not be places of agitation but should serve to satisfy the spiritual needs of believers of diverse political views," the document emphasizes.

The declaration was adopted unanimously at a session of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine that was held yesterday in Kiev.

The document is signed:
Senior Bishop of Church of Christians of Evagelical Faith of Ukraine Mikhail Panochko;
President of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists Viacheslav Nesteruk;
Senior Bishop of the Union of Free Churches of Christians of Evanglical Faith of Ukraine Vasily Raichinets;
President of Ukrainian Union Conference of Churches of Seventh-day Adventists Vladimir Krupsky;
Senior Bishop of Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church Leonid Padun;
Executive Secretary of the Brotherhood of Independent Churches and Missions of Evangelical Christians-Baptists Petr Balatsky;
Member of the Council of the Association of Missionary Churches of Evangelical Christians of Ukraine Vasily Davydiuk;
Bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church Viacheslav Gorpinchuk

(tr. by PDS, posted 21 April 2010)

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Scientology also "extremist"

WORKS OF FOUNDER OF SCIENTOLOGY RULED BY RUSSIAN COURT EXTREMIST
Interfax-Religiia, 21 April 2010

On the initiative of the Surgut transport prosecutor's office, materials by the founder of Scientology, Ron Hubbard, have been found to be extremist and their distribution on the territory of Russia will be forbidden, the Prosecutor General of RF reports.

In accordance with the requirements of legislation, they will be included in the federal list of extremist materials.

The Surgut transport prosecutor's office, along with the Khanty-Mansii customs office, conducted an inspection as a result of which it was established that international mail containing literature, and audio and video disks about Scientology (Ron Hubbard, author) was sent to various recipients living in Surgut.

The informational materials were confiscated and sent for examination in the religious studies council of the governor of Khanty-Mansii province, as a result of which specialists in the areas of psychiatry, psychology, and sociology gave the conclusions that these materials "are forbidden to be distributed, since they undermine the traditional spiritual foundations of the lives of citizens of the Russian federation."

The Surgut transport prosecutor filed in court an application that the confiscated materials be ruled to be extremist.

As a result of a psycho-linguistic expert analysis that was conducted it was established that there are in the materials presented "both overt and covert calls for social and religious strife, for the propaganda of exclusivity, the superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of the identity of his social and religious affiliation and attitude toward religion, calls for obstructing the legal activity of state organs, in particular, judicial and law enforcement agencies, and for committing crimes motivated by ideological and religious hatred." (tr. by PDS, posted 21 April 2010)

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Jehovah's Witnesses harassed in workplace

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN PRIMORSKY TERRITORY PERSECUTED "BY ORDER OF MVD."
Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 20 April 2010

State organs are again trying to control the life of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On 2 April 2010, a shift supervisor approached Yury Baikin and Olga Cherevko, who work in the "Teploenergo" boiler room in the city of Fokino, Primorsky Territory, and demanded that they acquaint themselves with a document "On Terrorism," since they are Jehovah's Witnesses. After reading the document, the believers refused to sign it, declaring that they have nothing to do with either terrorism or extremism.

It turned out that a letter was sent to the director of "Teploenergo" by the Department of Internal Affairs of Fokino on 9 March 2010 in which "in fulfillment of a directive of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)" it was proposed to check up on "the affiliation of workers and employees with the 'Jehovah's Witnesses' religious organization which is of an extremist tendancy." Where there are such workers, the management of an enterprise must "give special attention to information coming from them into the collective."

In addition to Yury Baikin and Oga Cherevko, two other Jehovah's Witnesses work in the same enterprise.

The president of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, V.M. Kalin expressed his opinion with regard to this document:  "This very much recalls soviet times, when state organs tried to control all spheres of believers' lives. They used to go to Jehovah's Witnesses at work and conduct educational conversations with them, simply because they firmly maintained their religious convictions."

One of the attorneys conducting this case commented upon this situation as follows:  "Discrimination in the workplace on the basis of religious affiliation is a crude violation of the constitutional rights of citizens. In accordance with article 19 of the constitution of RF, the state guarantees equality of citizens' human rights and freedoms without regard to the relationship to religion, convictions, affiliation with public associations, and any other circumstances. 'Any forms of restriction of citizens' rights on the basis of . . . religious affiliation is forbidden.'"

At the present, a reorganization of the boiler room is in progress and, in the opinion of believers, their chances of being transferred to work in the new enterprise are extremely doubtful in view of such an attitude toward them.  (tr. by PDS, posted 21 April 2010)

Russian original posted on SOVA site, 21 April 2010.

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Varieties of evangelicals in Ukraine

AGENDA PREPARED FOR NEXT MEETING OF LEADERS OF EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF UKRAINE
Institute of Religious Freedom, 16 April 2010

On 13April in the Main Chancellery of TsKhVEU a session of the secretariat of the Union of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine (SEPTsU) was held. The meeting of representatives of the churches was conducted under the chairmanship of Nikolai Siniuk,  deputy senior bishop of the church of Christians of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine (TsKhVEU), the Institute of Religious Freedom reports.

First of all the session was devoted to organizing and drawing up the agenda of the meeting of the heads of the churches that are members of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine. The session of the council is scheduled for next week.

As a result of discussion the secretariat of the council created a working group for preparing documents that will be presented for review by leaders of protestant churches.

During the session members of the secretariat of SEPTsU also analyzed the condition of state-church relations in Ukraine and discussed questions of the development of mutual cooperation in the work of evangelism and social service.

Information from Institute of Religious Freedom:  The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine was created in April 2005 as an inter-confessional consultative and advisory organ. Today SEPTsU has eight member associations:  The All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine, the Ukrainian United Conference of Churches of Seventh-day Adventists, the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, the Brotherhood of Independent Churches and Missions of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Ukraine, the Union of Free Churches of Christians of Evangelical Faith of Ukraine, the Association of Missionary Churches of Evangelical Christians of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Lutheran Church.

The SEPTsU also includes the "Word of Life" Missionary Evangelization and Charity Center of the Assiciation of Christian Churches of Ukraine, with right of advisory vote. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 April 2010)

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Orthodox Women's Day in Russia

EVANGELISTIC ACTION DEVOTED TO ORTHODOX WOMEN'S DAY BEGINS IN MOSCOW
Interfax, 19 April 2010

An evangelistic action devoted to the Orthodox day of commemoration of the "Myrrh-bearing Women" is under way in Moscow. "The action will last all week; Orthodox activists will greet girls and women on the streets of the city, at metro stations, churches, and in social institutions," an "Interfax-Religiia" correspondent was told on Monday at the Commission for Affairs of Youth of the diocesan council of Moscow, which organized the action jointly with the Martha and Mary convent. Participants in the events, representatives of more than ten Orthodox youth organizations, will also visit two institutions of higher education, the Russian State Medical University and the Moscow City Pedagogical University.

"The day of the Myrrh-bearing Women is an analogue to 8 March, only it has a much more ancient and interesting history. It is Orthodox Women's Day that many, unfortunately, do not know about. Our task is to popularize this holiday to the extent possible and to describe it for all who want to hear and to recall the feat of the myrrh-bearing women, at first glance unnoticed, who were not afraid to be the first persons to go to the grave of Christ," the agency's source said.

The action began last weekend. In that time Orthodox activists distributed more than 3,000 books about the Christian faith and postcards revealing the meaning of the holiday.  (tr. by PDS, posted 19 April 2010)

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Close relations of church and state

PATRIARCH KIRILL AND URALS PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY SIGN PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Interfax, 19 April 2010

Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill and the presidential envoy of the Urals district, Nikolai Vinnichenko, signed in Cheliabinsk an agreement for social partnership.  "The signing and implementation of this agreement is directed to the strengthening of moral, family, civic, and patriotic values, the development of spiritual and moral education and upbringing, humanitarianism and charity, and strengthening the security and stability of society," the press service of the presidential envoy reported on Monday. The agreement is directed to strengthening the moral spirit and authority of military defenders of the fatherland, and preservation of objects of historical and cultural heritage of a religious nature.

After the patriarch and presidential envoy had placed their signatures on the document, the primate of the Russian church awarded N. Vinnichenko the order of the holy, pious, Prince Daniil of Moscow (2nd degree).  (tr. by PDS, posted 19 April 2010)

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Arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses at opposite ends of Russia

"JEHOVAH'S WITNESS" FINED FOR REQUESTING THAT OFFICERS NOT INTERRUPT SERVICE
Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 16 April 2010

In Komsomolsk-na-Amur a believer spent a night in an isolation cell. "I was humiliated by what happened," the believer Nikolai Kovadnev expressed his feelings. "I simply asked that they not interrupt the worship service and they accused me, an unarmed person, of trying to resist nine officers of the Center for Combating Extremism (TsPE). The majority of them did not identify themselves. They closed the doors and detained me on the street for an hour. I was terribly cold. In addition, they made a video of me, ignoring my requests to stop the shooting. They took fingerprints and photographed me like a criminal. Then they put me in an isolation cell and in the end found me guilty and fined me."

On 15 April 2010, during a religious meeting, an assistant prosecutor N.G. Goncharov arrived for an inspection at the building of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Komsomolsk-no-Amur, Khabarovsk territory, accompanied by nine office of the TsPE, including the head of TsPE, S.A. Volynsky. They had a written request from the prosecutor's office to provide several documents about the activity of a local religious organization. The inspectors had no other legal basis permitting entry into the building.

In order not to interrupt the worship service, Kovadnev proposed that only the representative of the prosecutor's office enter, since the TsPE officers did not have a legal basis for entry. Also he explained that he was not the owner of the building and was not authorized to resolve such questions, and he suggested that they enter after the service. They accused him of disobeying TsPE officers and they took him to the Department of Internal Affairs and opened an administrative case. He was detained for 48 hours until resolution of the case in court and placed in an isolation cell.

At the same time, the exits of the Jehovah's Witnesses' building were closed, and after the conclusion of the service, for an hour, believers gave statements to TsPE officers, although there were no publications recognized as extremist, either in the building or in the believers' possession.

On 16 April 2010 Kovadnev was taken from the cell to Justice of the Peace O.Yu Sakhnovsky. First the judge heard representatives for the defense, who indicated that Kovadnev was not an authorized representative of the local religious organization, and they also called the judge's attention to the absence of documents confirming the right of TsPE officers to enter the building. Then the judge asked the director of TsPE whether permission to conduct the investigative "operation" had been drawn up in written form. He answered that a written request from the prosecutor addressed to the local religious organization was sufficient. With regard to the necessity of providing authorization of TsPE officers for participation in such actions, S.A. Volynsky declared that when his subordinates go out without him, then he is supposed to compose a written document, but in view of his personal presence on site and the participation of a representative of the prosecutor's office, there was no need for such a document. A representative of the prosecutor's office did not appear at the judicial session.

After hearing the sides, the magistrate retired to a deliberation room. A half hour later she issued her decision finding Kovadnev guilty of committing an administrative violation of law and assigned him a fine of 500 rubles. The believer intends to appeal the judicial order.

We recall that an order of the European Court on Human Rights, issued in 2007 in the case of "Kuznetsov and others v. RF," says:  "Article 9 of the Convention guarantees protection of conducting actions connected with worship services and performance of rituals which are characteristic aspects of the confession of religion or convictiosn in a generally recognized form. . . . It is indubitable that joint study and discussion of liturgical texts by members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group are a recognized form of their confession of their religion in the conduct of worship services and classes." (tr. by PDS, posted 19 April 2010)

Russian original posted on SOVA site, 16 April 2010

85 AND 86 YEAR OLD WOMEN ARRESTED IN ROSTOV PROVINCE
Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 16 April 2010

On 7 April 2010, Jehovah's Witnesses Evdokiia Popova, 85, and Liudmila Derbentseva, 86, were arrested by police officers in the village of Oblivsk, when they were conversing with people about God in a bus station. Police officers searched the elderly women's bags and then took them to the police department, where they confiscated the religious literature found on them. After this they were sent to the prosecutor's office of Oblivsk region, where they gave statements regarding the distribution of the publications found in their possession. After four hours of questioning they were released.

On 9 April, the president of the local Jehovah's Witnesses religious organization was summoned to the office of Prosecutor V. Bezdenezhny in the city of Surovikino to give a statement regarding this case. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 April 2010)

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