On the 24th of March, the Center for Information and Analysis SOVA presented two annual reports ‘Problems of freedom of conscience’ and ‘Illegal administration of anti-extremism legislation’.
Both of the reports were presented simultaneously this year, since, according to the Director of the Center Alexander Verkhovsky`s comments, ‘the problems of freedom of conscience and wrong administration of anti-extremism legislation are in close connection with each other’.
Presenting the report on freedom of conscience Verkhovsky claimed that the situation has not changed significantly in 2008. As before, there are plenty of reports on problems with obtaining premises for the religious associations in the regions; their relations with the authorities in general ‘leave much to be desired’. The most ‘unpopular’ religious minority groups are induced by the bigger organizations. Religious associations and some individuals lack protection from xenophobia. At the same time, in the name of struggle against ‘religious extremism’ human rights, including such as freedom of conscience, used to be violated rather frequently. And the tendency is getting worse in progress.
Besides, Verchovsky mentioned another negative trend – attacks on the cultic buildings became more dangerous, arsons and fires became more frequent.
As positive factor Verkhovsky mentioned the fact that in comparison with 2007, this year the powers put less pressure over the religious educational establishments such as Sabbath schools. The experts from SOVA think that the ‘case of Smolensk Methodists’ is among the reasons of this phenomenon. We recall that that in 2007 Smolensk regional court liquidated the Methodists community since they did not have an educational license, but the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decreed on the 10th of June, 2008 the decision to be illegal and groundless.
Galina Kozhevnikova, the Deputy Director of the Center, while presenting the report on illegal anti-extremism claimed that ‘anti-extremism legislation is’ a double edged sword’. On the one side, it prosecutes those who practice violence, promote hate, but on the other side, it prosecutes those who make nothing of the kind, that’s so called “illegal anti-extremism’. ‘In Russian anti-extremism legislation the concept ‘extremist activity’ is interpreted so widely, that it has made it possible,’ she explained.
The report is focused on the three main trends of 2008. Firstly, the freedom of conscience is subjected to the most significant restrictions by means of anti-extremism tools. Secondly, the most widespread kind of illegally prosecuted statements appear to be critic of the law enforcement bodies expressly or by implication. Thirdly, the scope of anti-extremism practice grows so rapidly that exceeds the powers of law enforcement bodies.
P.S. The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based Russian nonprofit organization that was founded in October 2002 by a group of people working for the Panorama Center for Information and Research and the Moscow Helsinki Group.
The SOVA Center conducts informational and research work on such topics as nationalism and xenophobia, relations between the churches and the secular society, and political radicalism. We are also interested in the problem of human rights in general and in safeguarding liberal democracy in the Russian Federation.
