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Pentecostals of Khakasiia complain about persecution

APPEAL TO RUSSIAN PRESIDENT FROM RESIDENTS OF SAYANOGORSK

To President of RF D.A. Medvedev
From citizens of RF, S.I. Vashchenko and V.V. Osmukhin

Esteemed Mister President

We are appealing to you as the guarantor of the constitution of the Russian federation. In our region (the republic of Khakasiia), in the cities of Abakan, Sayanogorsk, and Chernogorsk, rights of citizens of RF that are guaranteed to them by articles 19, 28, and 29 of the constitution of RF are being violated. The news media periodically carry propaganda that incites religious enmity toward believers of Christian evangelical churches. The words "sectarians," "zombies," "extremists," and "depressed elements prone to suicide" mold public opinion. The image of an enemy that is created gives the right to persecution of the church, as a collection of believers, on the part of local agencies of authorityÑthe prosecutor's offices, courts, FSB, and local administrations.

As the pastor and the administrator of the "Glorification" local religious organization of the Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (TsKhVE) of the city of Sayanogorsk, we wish to describe for you the history of our church. The "Glorification" Christian church was born in the city of Sayanogorsk in 1993 and it received state registration, certificate No. 11, of 25 February 1994. In 1997 the church joined the structure of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (ROSKhVE), whose president at the present time is S.V. Riakovskii, a member of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Organizations in the presidential administration of RF.

The primary activity of the church in the social sphere since 1999 has been rehabilitation of drug addicts and the restoration of their social status.

The Christian church, living in accordance with the principles of the Word of God (Bible), by its own definition cannot be an antisocial element, much less an enemy of the sovereignty of the Russian federation.

Christians are called by God to pray for and to bless all authority and to be law-abiding citizens of their country. But unfortunately, on the part of local authorities over the course of the last decade the church has been subjected to uninterrupted persecution.

In 2000, a rented building was taken away from the church and for a year and a half worship services were held outdoors, since there was no possibility of renting any premises in the city for meetings.

In 2002 we acquired a residential building in which we have conducted meetings of believers in accordance with article 28 of the constitution of RF regarding joint confession of faith and the charter of the church, registered with the Ministry of Justice of RF, concerning conducting worship services in residences.

As owners of the building, we have been constantly subjected to various illegal and baseless fines on the part of the Department of Architecture of the city of Sayanogorsk and the Ministry of Construction of the republic of Khakasiia. DAGN of the city of Sayanogorsk did not accept documents for the reconstruction of the building. When we received through BTI state registration of the right of ownership of the building, the BTI employee who gave us the tech-passport for the building was arrested at work by FSB officers and taken to the police department where he was subjected to interrogation and threats, accusing him of corruption, graft, aiding American (!) sectarians, etc.

In 2009, on the initiative of the prosecutor's office of the city of Sayanogorsk a judicial procedure for confiscating our building was begun. On 8 July 2010, the lawsuit for confiscation, with all the violations of our residential, material, and procedural rights, was confirmed by the Supreme Court of the republic of Khakasiia.

Mr. President: We ask you to protect our rights as citizens of the Russian federation. We appeal to you in the hope that we still live in a law-based state, where the constitution reigns and not lawlessness for the benefit of some people's subjective interests.

With respect,
S.I. Vashchenko
V.V. Osmukhin

13.08.2010

(tr. by PDS, posted 20 August 2010)

Russian original posted on site of Slavic Legal Center, 19 August 2010

Related article:  Siberian Pentecostals face soviet-like restriction ,  July 8, 2010

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Arson of Baptist church not based on antiprotestant motives

ARSONIST OF BAPTIST CHURCH ARRESTED IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESIA
Interfax-Religiia, 20 August 2010

Officers of the Karachaevo Department of Internal Affairs arrested a resident of Karachaevo-Cherkesia who is suspected of arson of a Baptist house of worship in the city of Karachaevsk that occurred in June of this year.

"The detainee confessed to the crime. The young man said that he committed the arson while drunk and he did not have any specific motives for doing the crime," Interfax was told on Friday by a representative of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the republic, Kazim Baibanov.

He recalled that at the end of June an unknown criminal tossed a burning canister of gasoline through an open window of one of the rooms of the church. In addition, the criminal doused the window itself with gasoline and lit it.

"Fortunately, at the time of the ignition there were no people in this part of the building. Parishioners called the fire fighters, who quickly extinguished the flame, as a result of which the church building received little damage," the representative of MVD noted.

A criminal case was then opened on the basis of part 2 or article 167 of the Criminal Code of RF (intent to damage property, motivated by vandalism, by means of arson).  (tr. by PDS, posted 20 August 2010)

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Jehovah's Witness mother forced to accept son's blood transfusion

MOSCOW COURT PERMITS BLOOD TRANSFUSION TO SAVE CHILD DESPITE SECTARIAN MOTHER'S PROTEST
Interfax-Religiia, 20 August 2010

The Zamoskvoreche court of Moscow gave permission to conduct a blood transfusion for a seriously ill boy, despite the refusal of the mother who is a member of the "Jehovah's Witnesses sect, a source in attorney circles told Interfax on Friday.

According to the source, the administration of a scientific research institution for emergency children's surgery and traumatology sent a request to the Zamoskvoreche district prosecutor's office for the protection of the interests of the child whose mother would not permit the blood transfusion for him, despite clear evidence that his life was in danger.

In August of this year the ten-year-old boy presented at the intensive care unit of the institute with severe multiple traumas: severe brain damage, fracture of the skull, chest injury, lung contusion, and other injuries.

"On the basis of clinical data, the boy must have a blood transfusion," the agency's source noted. However the boy's mother refused to give consent for this operation for religious reasons.

In his turn, the prosecutor filed suit in court in the interests of a minor, asking for permission for the blood transfusion, and this petition was granted. (tr. by PDS, posted 20 August 2010)

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Nursi follower sentenced

AZERBAJAINI SENTENCED FOR DISTRIBUTION OF LITERATURE
Interfax-Religiia, 18 August 2010

In Nizhny Novgorod, a 34-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan was convicted on an accusation of inciting ethnic strife.

"He was found guilty of committing the crime under part 1, article 282 of the Criminal Code of RF (inciting hatred or enmity and demeaning human dignity). The court sentenced him to punishment in the form of one year of imprisonment," the Investigative Administration of the Investigative Committee of the Procuracy of RF for Nizhny Novgorod province reported.

The materials of the case showed that the man distributed over the Internet from an apartment in a building on Rodionov street in Nizhny Novgorod materials from the collected works of Said Nursi, the spiritual leader of the international religious association "Nurjular," that has been ruled by a court to be extremist literature.

According to the investigation, he was engaged in this from September 2007 to July 2009.  (tr. by PDS, posted 19 August 2010)

Related article: Muslim "Nursis" hounded as extremists ,  June 8, 2010

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Orthodoxy protected by judicial prosecution

ULIANOVSK RESIDENT ESCAPES WITH LARGE FINE FOR INCITING NATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS STRIFE ON THE INTERNET
Interfax-Religiia, 17 August 2010

A resident of Ulianovsk was fined 100,000 rubles for posting on the Internet articles of an extremist nature, Interfax was told by a senior assistant prosecutor of Ulianovsk province, Vasily Zima. He said that 45-year-old Sergei Kriukov was found guilty of committing a crime under part 1, article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian federation (actions intended to arouse hatred and enmity and also to demean human dignity on the grounds of nationality or religious affiliation, committed publicly).

An investigation established that from June 2008 to January 2009, S. Kriukov frequently posted on sites original articles of an extremist nature. Among them were such materials as "RusismÑHoliday of evil," "Russian Field: Seeds of lies sprouted weeds of Satanism," and "Voices of conscience in an ocean of lies."

A complex psychological and linguistic judicial expert analysis was conducted, which showed that Kriukov's texts expressed a negative attitude toward the Russian nation and Orthodoxy. "The writer gave an extremely negative assessment of the political system of Russia and its citizens. The contents of these articles demeaned the dignity of people on grounds of nationality and affiliation with religion, and reading them could evoke a hostile attitude toward Orthodox Christians and the Russian people as a whole," V. Zima said. (tr. by PDS, posted 17 August 2010)

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Patriarch prays for rain

PATRIARCH KIRILL CALLS RUSSIANS TO LEARN SPIRITUAL LESSONS OF HOT SUMMER
Interfax-Religii, 16 August 2010

Patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus Kirill called people to think about the causes of the fires, which continue to rage in Russia, and to draw appropriate conclusions.

"Each person should make the most serious 'examination of results,' time and again thinking about his responsibility before God for himself, for his neighbors, for nature, and for the world surrounding us," the patriarch said after the liturgy he conducted yesterday at the Stefano-Makhrishch monastery of Vladimir province.

The primate of the church noted that the cause of the fires is either evil intent or the barbaric attitude toward nature of those who are so accustomed "to serve their own desires that they are completely indifferent to any consequences of their actions."

Those who are guilty of the destruction of public property and the physical deaths of people are the ones who pollute our forests, Patriarch Kirill is convinced; he was quoted by his press service.

"It is impossible to go out into the forests in the vicinity of the large cities: they are dumps with a colossal amount of broken glass, plastic bottles, and cartons, all of which magnify the force of the sun and facilitate spontaneous combustion in the forest in the great heat. We are setting fire to ourselves," the patriarch said, and he again noted that the forest fires are "the natural reaction to the notorious human factor at whose base is the sin of people."

"Our national treasure is burning up before our eyes; we are becoming poorer, we are losing human lives, and not only those people who have perished in the flames.  After all, how many weak people have died of suffocation from the most burdensome conditions of life in the large smoke-filled cities," Patriarch Kirill said, expressing the hope that "this sign" that "heaven has given us" will still "force us to reconsider and begin a different life."

"We earnestly pray that the Lord will send rain to our land, and we believe that those rains that have fallen, even though they were small, are still signs of God mercy toward us. We believe that the Lord will lead us through this trial. Human wisdom consists in the ability to learn lessons. May God grant that our nation that is going through this fiery trial of the heat of the summer of 2010 will learn the spiritual that we are teaching ourselves," Patriarch Kirill said in conclusion.

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