PERFORMANCE OF RELIGIOUS RITUALS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED EXTREMISM—SUPREME COURT
Actions consisting exclusively of exercising the rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of religious confession cannot be considered to be extremist, declared the chairman of the Russian Supreme Court, Viacheslav Lebedev.
"Actions that do not contain indicators of extremism and consisting exclusively of exercising the rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of religious confession, including by means of performance of religious rituals and ceremonies, do not constitute elements of a crime," Lebedev said in the course of a conference of judges of courts of ordinary jurisdiction and arbitration courts of the Russian Federation.
He said that in the past year, 606 persons were convicted for committing crimes of an extremist nature.
Participants in the conference included
Russian President
Vladimir Putin, judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian
Federation and of all
courts of ordinary and arbitration jurisdiction, leaders of the
Legal Department
of the Supreme Court, and representatives of federal bodies of
government. (tr.
by PDS, posted 12 February 2022)
Background article:
Russian high court opinion may improve
conditions for Jehovah's Witnesses
October 29, 2021
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