SENSELESS ACCUSATION. TRIAL OF A BAPTIST CHURCH
by Roman Lunkin
Religiia i Pravo, 14 June 2018
The Yarovaya Law is continuing its victorious march through Russian regions. For judicial and law enforcement agencies, any congregation of believers is suspect. To some degree, such an attitude was a natural process from the moment of the adoption of the new legislation on cults in Russia, since representatives of authority are little acquainted with various confessions and the law is maximally vague. However, judicial cases affect believers' feelings and not just the legal formulation of their activity.
On 14 June 2018, a judge in the Petukhovo district court of Kurgan oblast left without satisfaction believers' appeal of a decision to fine a Baptist congregation. Back on 17 April 2018, a magistrate court of Petukhovo judicial district of Kurgan oblast fined the Association of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (EKhB) Churches of Kurgan Oblast 30,000 rubles on the basis of part 3 of article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Violations of Law of the RF.
Everything began when the prosecutor's office discovered a religious group of Baptists in Petukhovo, which were meeting in a house. On the building there is a schedule of services and an indication that the owner of the house is the religious organization "Light of Truth EKhB Church" of the city of Kurgan. So it was established that the full name of the organization was not on the building.
A lawyer of the church noted reasonably in the court of the judicial proceedings that the group in Petukhovo legally belongs to the "Light of Truth EKhB Church" and not to the oblast Association. Despite this, the order nevertheless indicated that the religious group belongs to the EKhB Association for the oblast. The indication that it was the "Light of Truth EKhB Church" to which it belonged was for some reason considered by the court to be an attempt to avoid accountability, although it is this church to which the building belongs.
It also turned out that the religious group had not notified the agencies of authority about its existence, although it has been active since 1999. This also was blamed on the pastor of the group, A.Yu. Yurovskikh, since the group reads the Bible and disseminates its teaching among persons "who are not members of this association." After the start of the prosecutorial inspection in February 2018, the pastor was forced to provide information about the activity of the group.
A letter of the senior presbyter of the Association of EKhB Churches of Cheliabinsk and Kurgan Oblasts, Igor Maksakov, "Trial of a Baptist Church in Petukhhovo," appeared on Facebook. This cry from the soul of a Baptist minister should be read by all bureaucrats and law enforcement personnel in Russia (and probably deputies of the Russian State Duma):
"I became a believer in 1988, and at the time it seemed to me that my country had embarked on a proper path of comprehensive positive development, including development in the sphere of religious freedom. My great-grandfather spent 11 years in the camps on Solovki for faith in Christ. He spent it for religious convictions. And then, in 1988, for me it was especially important to feel and to see that the country had come to its senses and the former times were no more. That's how it seemed. . . .
"Thirty years passed. Historians say that this is too long a stretch for free-thinking and religious liberty in particular in Russia, since it never was like this in our country. If this were not happening to us, then I would think that people simply are exaggerating. But here is the fact: the trial of a Baptist church in the city of Petukhovo, Kurgan oblast. . . .
"In February 2018 our church in Petukhovo received special attention: the agencies of authority made several inspections. There's nothing to inspect. The church building was bought legally, people assemble openly and regularly, the activity of the Baptists in Petukhovo is known to everybody. After certain inspections I, as the senior presbyter of the Association, was summoned to the prosecutor's office to provide explanations, along with the pastor of the local church, Alexander Yurievich Yurovskikh. After this the case was sent to court. This has already plunged us into a kind of shock, but we survived it. . . .
"The first decision of the court: 1) fine A.Yu. Yurovsky 5,000 rubles for illegal missionary activity; 2) fine the Association of EKhB Churches of Cheliabinsk and Kurgan Oblasts, in the person of I.V. Maksakov, 30,000 rubles for noncompliance with its charter.
"We filed an appeal. And so today a second trial was held. According to the word of our lawyer, Maksim Igorevich Evgrafov, the prosecutor was absolutely unprepared for the trial. And this, to put it mildly, is unheard of. . . . Of five answers given him, he did not answer 4!
"Our lawyer asked him: 'Esteemed court, can you explain what the missionary activity by A. Yurovskikh, of which he is accused, consists of?'
The state's prosecutor's answer: 'No, I cannot.'
Second question: 'Does that mean that you want to say that the accusation against A.Yu. Yurovsky is without basis?'
Prosecutor's answer: 'No, I cannot say that.'
"So one would like to ask: then why have we assembled here if the prosecutor is not up to speed in the case and does not know the meaning of the charge?
"It seems to me that this is simply disregard for the rights of just some Baptists.
"What could be a different version? That actually the prosecutor does not know the law that is the basis for the charge against the church that has existed legally on the territory of Russia for 150 years now? (incidentally, I even consider this possible. . . .) So that's it. . . .
"But most likely, there simply already exists a decision respecting us and the trial is simply a kind of fiction. That's all. There is also something more interesting. According to the law of the Russian Federation, any defendant has the right to a written and/or audio record of a court session. Such was even provided under Stalin. But now the court in Petukhovo explicitly refused to give us such a record. Without an explanation of the reasons.
"They charge us with illegal missionary activity, an improper (incorrect) sign on our house of worship, and actions incompatible with the charter of the Association. Simply put, we gave the Petukhovo church a document confirming that they are a member of our Association. But in the opinion of the judge, we did not have the right to do this.
"And such incidents, as they say, are not isolated in our country."
The senior presbyter is not correct about some things. First, what is happening in the court is disrespect for the religious faith of very diverse confessions and it demeans believing citizens. Second, Baptists over the course of 100 years, at least, are far from just some Baptists, but are a part of the Russian intelligentsia and part of the Christian culture of confessors for the faith, and without this Russian culture is already unimaginable. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 June 2018)
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