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2011

Suppression of Nursi Followers Continues with Attack on University Professor
On October 13, 2011, the Investigative Committee of Russia's Novosibirsk region announced the launch of a criminal investigation against two residents, filed under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code: organizing activities in association with an organization banned for extremism. The investigation is part of a larger trend of suppressing the literature and followers of the late Turkish Muslim scholar Said Nursi in Russia, and follows a ban on the activities of the nonexistent organization "Nurcular" for extremism. Russian authorities allege that "Nurcular" is composed of Nursi's followers.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in November 2011
November 2011 was marked by a large number of wrongful prosecutions, and a jump – as was expected – in the abuse of anti-extremist legislation during the parliamentary election campaign.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in October 2011
October 2011 was marked on the one hand by a large number of wrongful criminal cases and improper bans, and on the other by the laudable termination of criminal proceedings against the Voina art group and the lifting of a ban on a painting depicting Mickey Mouse as Jesus Christ.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in September 2011
Misuse of anti-extremist legislation for the first month of autumn 2011 remained within the bounds of our biannual report for this year, published in Russian on September 22 and forthcoming in English.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in August 2011
This month, anti-extremism legislation was misused primarily in recognition of materials (mostly texts) as extremist. We also note a new bill introduced by the government to the Duma; it clarifies and extends some of the state’s methods of countering extremism.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in July 2011
In July we recorded one dubious criminal charge, and several questionable administrative decisions. In some cases, courts rejected improper accusations of extremism, but more often such accusations were approved. Also, of particular note is the involvement of the Federal Migration Service in prosecuting charges of extremism against a trade union activist.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in June 2011
A remarkable event this month was the June 28 Resolution of the plenary meeting of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation N11 "On judicial practice in criminal cases involving crimes of an extremist nature." However, the usual trends remain rather negative.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in May 2011
This month we saw one significantly positive development: a serious clearing-out of the Federal List of Extremist Materials, which has long been plagued with multiple and outdated entries. Otherwise, we saw all the same trends reported in previous updates.
Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation in April 2011
In April 2011, we registered the misuse of anti-extremism legislation in all our major areas of coverage: criminal and administrative proceedings, publications deemed extremist, and warnings issued to media sources.​
Local Jehovah’s Witnesses Head Acquitted by Gorno-Altaisk Court
On April 14, 2011, the Gorno-Altaisk City Court acquitted Aleksandr Kalistratov of charges under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code, incitement to religious hatred. He was fully absolved of any wrongdoing.