Prosecutor's Office accuses "Memorial" of violating the law on extremism

Yesterday, February 28, human rights activists of the "Memorial" society stated that Moscow Prosecutor's Office suspected them of popularizing Islamic extremism. The reason for the official warning of the prosecutor's office was the publication on the "Memorial" site of an expert opinion on the ideology of the movement "Khizb ut-Takhrir" prohibited in Russia. The human rights activists call the act of the prosecutor's office "a new stage of pressure on NCOs by the authorities" and announced their intention to appeal against it in court, writes "Kommersant."

The warning on the inadmissibility of violation by the "Memorial" society of the federal law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity" was signed by Sergey Lapin, deputy prosecutor of Moscow. The basis for issuing the warning was the expert report on the ideological platform of the radical Islamic movement "Khizb ut-Takhrir" prohibited in Russia. It was written by Nafigulla Ashirov, co-chair of the mufti council of Russia and published on the "Memorial" site. The prosecutor's office ordered its own "legal socio-psychological" expertise of the text written by Mr Ashirov and concluded that the latter "intentionally uses his religious authority for political aims" and fosters popularization of the organization. Moscow Prosecutor's Office requested the text of Mr Ashirov be removed from the site within three days.

The opinion on the ideology of "Khizb ut-Takhrir" was written by Mr Ashirov upon the request of human rights activists after the law enforcement bodies initiated in 2004 scores of criminal cases against the participants of the movement. They are accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization (art. 282 of RF CC) and of organizing a criminal group (art. 210 of RF CC). According to the "Memorial," 17 sentences have been passed on "Khizb ut-Takhrir" cases, 46 persons have been convicted, 29 of them have been given real terms of imprisonment (maximum is 8.5 years). About ten more cases are under investigation. Having analyzed the contents of the "Khizb ut-Takhrir" brochures, Nafigulla Ashirov made a conclusion that there are no calls for violence or overthrowing the power and stated that initiation of criminal cases against members of the movement is a mistake and violates the right of Moslems to freely express their religious concept.

"Khizb ut-Takhrir al-Islami" (Islamic Party of Liberation) is a Sunnite religious and political organization. Its aim is dissemination of Islamic ideas around the world and the creation of a united Moslem state, a Caliphate. There are representative offices of the movement in a number of countries of the Near East, Africa and Western Europe. In Russia, "Khizb ut-Takhrir" is recognized as a terrorist organization, its activity is prohibited by a decision of the Supreme Court in 2003.

Oleg Orlov, head of the "Memorial", yesterday stated that the prosecutor's warning is another stage of the state's attack on non-commercial organizations (NCOs). "They want to prohibit us to doubt the official point of view and to have our own opinion," he stated. Mister Orlov noted that the text on the "Khizb ut-Takhrir" had appeared on the "Memorial" site in May 2005, but it interested the prosecutor's office only at the beginning of 2006, after the adoption of the law on NCOs and the "spy scandal" with the Moscow Helsinki Group. "The prosecutor's office felt pressure from the top and yielded to it," thinks Svetlana Gannushkina, chair of the "Civil Assistance" Committee who ordered the expert opinion to Mr Ashirov. Today, the "Memorial" employees are going to remove the Ashirov's text from the site and file a complaint against the prosecutor's warning in court.

Sergey Lapin, deputy prosecutor of Moscow, yesterday flatly refused to comment on the warning signed by him or to name the authors of the "socio-psychological" expertise.

The "Caucasian Knot" reported earlier that the new law establishing control over the NGOs working in Russia was approved by President Putin on January 10 and published on Tuesday, January 17, by the official "Rossijskaya Gazeta" newspaper. It will come into force 90 days after the publication. In particular, the law establishes that the activity of foreign associations working in Russia may be suspended if they "create danger to the sovereignty, political independence, territorial inviolability, national unity and originality, cultural heritage and national interests."

The new law has already been criticized by some governments and organizations, including Amnesty International. "Serious concern" has been expressed by Washington. "We are going to closely monitor its application, so as the non-government organizations have an opportunity to work in future," stated Angela Merkel, new German chancellor, on Monday, January 16, at the joint press-conference with President Putin.