PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AGAINST CHRISTIANS.
Court does not want to fine pastor for
organizing
children's recreation
by Roman Lunkin
Religiia
i Pravo, 23 September 2016
On 23 September 2016, the Novosergiev
district court
of Orenburg province issued a decision in favor of the presbyter
of the church
of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (EKhB) of the village of
Suzanovo, Alexander
Demkin. The court decided that his actions for organizing a
children's playground
near the house of worship do not constitute an administrative
violation of law
in accordance with part 2, article 20.2 of the Code of
Administrative
Violations of Law of the RF (violation of the requirements of
the federal law
of 19 June 2004 "On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches,
and
picketing). In the summer, Baptists regularly conduct
competitions for
children, and they have set up trampolines and musical
equipment, and they have
sung Christian songs. The administration of the village also did
not oppose
such cultural programs for local children.
Initially an administrative case was
opened after an
inspection conducted by the prosecutor's office. Apparently
since there were no
complaints against anybody in the village, then the protestant
church was
chosen to be the target. It is only by such arbitrariness that
it is possible
to explain that the children's playground could become the
occasion for a verification
of compliance with the legislation on combating extremist
activity. Following
its special logic, the children playing and jumping on
trampolines were turned
into "an unsanctioned public event in the form of picketing
(near the
house of worship)."
After the uproar involving the attempt
to fine a
Baptist pastor for children's recreation crossed the borders of
Orenburg
province, it turned out that in fact the parents of the children
were grateful
that such a playground exists at the house of worship. Alexander
Demkin
declared more than once that there is no political subtext in
this project.
However a deputy of the prosecutor of Novosergiev district,
lawyer first class
V.A. Babeshko, nevertheless insisted on taking the case to court
and punishing
for failure to give notification of conduct of a "picket."
Attorney Vladimir Ozolin, who
represented the
interests of the church in court, noted that the organization of
children's
recreation at the house of worship is in no way a violation of
public security
or other public interests. The goal of the event was exclusively
children's
recreation; in the country there was not any expression or
formulation of
public opinion regarding such a situation. No demands, calls,
and the like were
put forward by me [?]. The pastor did not use and did not intend
to use either
banners or posters referring to an acute social or political
problem. And that
means that the pastor was not required to give notification
about the conduct
of the children's playground.
In addition, the playground was
organized on the
territory of the house of worship, and the rights of ownership
belong to the
local religious organization "Church of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists" of the village of Suzanovo, Novosergiev
district,
Orenburg province, of which Alexander Demkin is the presbyter.
According to the attorney Doctor of
Juridical Sciences
Anatoly Pchelintsev, the court's decision can be called a
demonstration of
justice with regard to a non-Orthodox Christian church and one
must give the
principled and honest position of the judge its due. As regards
the actions of
the prosecutor's office, once again we see the absolute
incompetence of the
"guardians of legality," who by their juridical illiteracy
discredit
this supervisory body.
Nina Zabrebina, an attorney and chief
editor of the
journal Juridical Religious Studies, comments on the actions of
the
prosecutor's office with respect to the Baptist church thus:
"The Orenburg
case has become widely known throughout Russia, primarily
because of the
absurdity of what is happening. Of course, in the public mind
there exist
stereotypes connected with unfamiliar non-Orthodox churches, but
to call a
children's playground a picket is difficult in any case."
However, both this case and many cases connected with the implementation of the Yarovaya Law show that law enforcement agencies have decided to revise religious life in their own way, in spite of common sense. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 September 2016)
PASTOR DID NOT PICKET HIS OWN HOUSE OF
WORSHIP
Court rules in favor of presbyter
In Orenburg province on 23 September
the Novosergiev
district court issued a decision according to which the actions
of the local
presbyter of the church of Evangelical Christians-Baptists,
Alexander Demkin,
do not constitute an administrative violation of law. Rights
advocate Vladimir
Ozolin reported this to an IA REGNUM correspondent.
"The court accepted our position, that
Demkin was
not the organizer of a public event or a picket with
participation of children.
Justice has triumphed," the lawyer noted.
He also added that the municipal court,
having
familiarized itself with the original materials, returned them
to the
prosecutor's office for correction.
Rights advocate Timur Rakhmatulin, a
friend of Demkin,
also reported this on his Facebook page: "After the articles
about the
pastor, who was accused of organizing a 'children's picket,' the
prosecutor's
office of Novosergiev district hastened to compose a new
judgment. It has no
mention of fire safety and no mention of extremism. But the
'children' and the
'picket' remained. From the new one, the following emerged: it
seems the pastor
picketed his own worship facility, the house of worship."
From the document it follows that
originally the
supervisory agency conducted a verification from 2 to 8
September 2016, but the
revised document speaks about a period from 2 to 16 September.
Whereas in the
first case, a verification of compliance with legislation on
combating
extremist activity in the local Baptist church was conducted, in
the second
case this wording disappeared and new wording appeared: a
verification of
compliance with legislation on conducting public events in the
local church.
The prosecutor's claim about unsanctioned conduct of a public
event in the form
of picketing (at the house of worship) intended for organizing
recreation and
entertainment of children remained.
As IA REGNUM reported earlier, the case of the organization of a temporary children's playground on the territory of the Baptist church in the village of Suzanovo, Orenburg province, aroused public resonance. Suddenly there appeared in the prosecutor's office claims against a pastor who for a number of years has organized such entertainment for local rural children. The presbyter himself maintains that the events have no political subtext and the airing of any acute issues is not intended. The children are offered free attractions, games and competitions are conducted, and from the parents only words of thankfulness come forth. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 September 2016)
CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT IN ORENBURG
EQUATED WITH
PICKET
In the village of Suzanovo, Novosergiev
district,
Orenburg province, a Baptist pastor was accused of conducting an
unsanctioned
picket for the purpose of organizing recreation and
entertainment for children.
News of this has appeared on social networks.
Timur Rakhmatulin (the director of the
regional
division of the Committee on Prevention of Torture) reported on
his VKontakte
page that his friend, the pastor of the Baptist church in
Suzanov, Alexander
Demkin, shared in a telephone conversation that he always has
refrained from
politics and he "is accused of organizing a public event, some
kind of
illegal rally," an IA REGNUM correspondent reports.
In a conversation with an IA REGNUM
correspondent,
Rakhmatulin noted that Demkin has for a number of years now
organized
playgrounds for children. Rural residents are only pleased with
this. While
children come to the playground either with their parents or
with their
consent—this is an obligatory condition.
Alexander Demkin himself told an IA
REGNUM
correspondent that no kinds of sermons or demands regarding
acute issues are
intended. Over the course of three years he has organized a
children's playground
in the village (the
playground and
trampolines were bought with contributions from throughout the
district). For
two or three hours on several days children have the possibility
to attend the
attraction for free.
It is noteworthy that the playground is
located on the
territory of a house of worship. The presbyter of the church of
Evangelical
Christians-Baptists noted that the church is attended by up to
50 parishioners
(there are 200 households in the village). It is primarily
believers who come
to the playground with their children. This year it was decided
to bring
creativity to the playground; children from the Sunday school
staged biblical
stories and, Demkin said, games and relays were conducted
without any
"propaganda and political ideology."
"I have heard only words of thanks from
parents
all these years," the pastor acknowledged. And suddenly, like a
bolt out
of the blue, an order from the prosecutor's office for opening a
case of
administrative law violation. It is noteworthy that the
prosecutor of
Novosergiev district, V.A. Babeshko, composed this document on
the basis of
results of a review of the materials of the case against
Alexander Demkin for
violation of the requirements of fire safety within the
framework of compliance
with the law on combating extremist activity in a local
religious organization.
It speaks further about violation of the procedure for
conducting public
events.
The prosecutor indicates that from 30
June to 2 July,
a public event was conducted in the form of picketing whose goal
supposedly was
organizing recreation and entertainment for children by
conducting
competitions, erecting trampolines on the grounds of the house
of worship,
musical equipment, and singing of songs on a religious topic.
Now legal support for Pastor Demkin has
been provided
by lawyers of the SOVA Center for News and Analysis. Rights
advocate Vladimir
Ozolin stated his disagreement with the position of the local
prosecutor's
office and in conversation with an IA REGNUM correspondent noted
that federal
law No. 54 "On meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and
picketing" has nothing to do with organizing recreational
athletic events
for children. "On the part of the prosecutor's office there is
an
incorrect interpretation of the norms of the law," Ozolin said,
and added,
"This seems very strange. Both inspections were attended by FSB
agents.
This is a cause for some reflection."
The attorney also stressed: "As regards
religious
convictions, there were no violations of law. What the pastor
did for children
in the village is good."
In predictions the rights advocate is
cautious:
"If the prosecutor's office has begun interpreting the norms of
the law in
this way, then it is difficult to imagine what the future will
be. We are hoping
in the court, which, God willing, will agree with our position
that this is a
simple recreational event for children and that there will be
nothing about
pickets and rallies, and calls about socially acute problems are
not intended
nor sounded."
With regard to actions of the
prosecutor's office,
Timur Rakhmatulin expressed himself harshly on social networks:
"And now
my friend is threatened with a fine of up to 30,000 rubles for
an illegal
'rally.' And 'bravo' to the assistant prosecutor of Novosergiev
district, V.A.
Babeshko; he defeated the children's playground, he dispersed
the unsanctioned
public demonstration, he raised official signals, and he
contributed to the
treasury of the Russian federation. And the children? Who cares
about them? The
prosecutor's children do not need children's playgrounds to be
organized for
them."
From Ozolin's point of view, by these
actions the
prosecutor's office is undermining the authority of law
enforcement agencies
and looks more like a punitive body.
At the administration of domestic
policy of the
governor's staff and government of Orenburg province an IA
REGNUM correspondent
was told that Baptists constitute 1-2% of the believers in the
region and they
have not evoked any alarms. No conflicts have occurred before
the situation in
the village of Suzanovo.
"We know about the situation in the
village of
Suzanovo. Now local government bodies are conducting
inspections. We can
only examine the results of the
inspection and give recommendations, and the prosecutor's office
takes definite
actions," the administration stressed.
The chairman of the Council of
Protestant Churches of
Orenburg province, Alexander Biriukov, thinks the conflict in
the village was
created artificially. "Someone is eager and wants to get either
rank or
promotion in office. We hope for a peaceful resolution of the
situation."
In addition, he emphasized that they intend to defend their
rights, although
the picture is bleak. "Unfortunately, these government bodies to
which we
have appealed throw up their hands," he acknowledged. (tr. by
PDS, posted
23 September 2016)
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