Pussy Riot Member Fails in Appeal

A member of the punk band Pussy Riot has had her appeal turned down by Russia's Constitutional Court, according to Religion Clause Blog.  Nadezhda Tolonnikova had earlier been convicted of disorderly conduct after a performance at a cathedral in Moscow.  She had appealed to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the conviction violated her freedom of expression, placed the internal rules of religious groups ahead of public law principles, and more.

Salafist Qur'an Banned in Russia

Slowly starting to get caught up on some recent stories.  Last month, Religion Clause Blog had a post about a Russian court banning a Salafi translation of the Qur'an on the basis that it was "extremist" literature.  The move was quite controversial among Russian Muslims, with some supporting the decision and others condemning it.

New Sacrilege Offence Introduced in Russian Parliament

The website Russia Beyond the Headlines has a story about a bill progressing through Russia's lower house of Parliament that would make it a crime to "express clear contempt for society" by "insulting religious feelings of religious people" while in a holy place such as a church or mosque.  The maximum fine for the proposed offence would be three years' imprisonment and the equivalent of a $ 16,000 fine.  According to the article, the bill has received widespread support, including from the country's head of the Presidential Council on Human Rights.

Russian Court Finds Bhagavad Gita & Commentary Not Extremist Literature

The prosecutor for the Siberian city of Tomsk has twice failed in a Russian lower court to have the Bhagavad Gita, and/or commentary accompanying a translation of it, deemed "extremist literature". The prosecutor accused the scriptures (held sacred by Hindus) as inciting "social hatred" and "violence against non-believers." The accompanying commentary was penned by the founder for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON), commonly known as the Hare Krishnas. An appeal to a higher court is possible.

Further information can be found on The Hindu, and thanks to Religion Clause Blog for first bringing this story to my attention.

Moscow Museum Curators Convicted of "Religious Hatred"

Today's Globe and Mail (via the Associated Press) reports that two Russian art museum curators have been convicted of "inciting religious hatred" for an exhibition that "included images of Jesus Christ protrayed as Mickey Mouse and Vladimir Lenin". The two were fined but escaped prison sentences.

The incident points to the power of the Russian Orthodox Church in using government apparatus to secure its dominance over religion, and is another example of how I believe "religious hatred" laws are often traditional blasphemy laws in disguise.

I can't seem to find a link to the Globe and Mail story, so here's a link to a similar article on Yahoo.