PENTECOSTALS
IN
OMSK ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL HEALING
SOVA
Center
for
News and Analysis, 7 February 2018
On
2 February it
was reported that a criminal case was opened in Omsk on the
basis of article
239 of the Criminal Code (creation of a noncommercial
organization that
infringes the person and rights of citizens) against a religious
group of
Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), "21st Century
Regeneration
of the city of Omsk."
The
Investigative
Committee accuses the protestant group of organizing "mass
sessions of pseudo-healing without a license."
In
conversation
with journalists, a representative of the Investigation
Directorate of the
Investigative Committee of Russia for Omsk oblast, Renat
Mamedov, commented on
the opening of the case as follows:
"The
Investigation
Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Omsk
oblast has received appeals from citizens who attended events of
the religious
group '21st Century Regeneration of the city of Omsk,' who
complained about a
bad state of health; these were reviewed. The citizens
complained that they
became ill while attending this non-commercial organization, and
this also
happened after their attending. A criminal case was opened on
the basis of the
results of the materials of the investigation. During the
examination of the
results of psychological analyses of 9 of the approximately 50
participants in
such educational conversations, violations of the psyche were
discovered, and
the examination suggests that it was in connection with
attending this
religious group that this harm was caused."
Lawyers
of the
Slavic Legal Center call attention to the fact that "this is the
first
criminal case initiated against the Christian Evangelical Church
on the basis of
article 239 of the CC." In their opinion, the compulsory
psychiatric
expert analysis to which members of the religious groups were
subjected
"violates legislation on freedom of conscience and common
sense."
We recall that in June 2017 this church was accused of "illegal" evangelism. The reason for the accusation was a discrepancy between the names of the church on a sign and in the documents of the organization ("21st Century Regeneration" Organization of Spiritual Development of the Personality) and in advertisements ("21st Century Regeneration" Church of the Full Gospel). The investigation was initiated on the basis of a report of a local electrician, a "law-abiding and respectable citizen," who asked the prosecutor's office to investigate the "activity of sectarians within the context of the Yarovaya Law." (tr. by PDS, posted 7 February 2018)
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