ST 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Public actions expressing obvious disrespect for society and committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers are punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to two hundred forty hours, or forced labor for up to one year, or imprisonment for the same period.
2. Acts provided for in part one of this article, committed in places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies, are punishable by a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years, or compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or forced labor for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for the same term with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to one year.
3. Illegal obstruction of the activities of religious organizations or the conduct of worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies is punishable by a fine in the amount of up to three hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or by compulsory labor for a period of up to three hundred and sixty hours, or correctional labor for up to one year, or arrest for up to three months.
4. Acts provided for in part three of this article, committed: a) by a person using his official position; b) with the use of violence or with the threat of its use - shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of up to two hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to one year, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or forced labor for up to one year, or imprisonment for the same period with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to two years.
Commentary to Art. 148 of the Criminal Code
1. The commented article actually contains two independent elements of the crime. The first, from the objective side, is characterized by public actions that express clear disrespect for society (see commentary to Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers. The literal interpretation of the law and the text of Part 2 of the article suggest that the feelings of atheists and agnostics are not protected by criminal law; however, if we consider the latter categories of citizens as believers in the absence of something, then the elements of the crime will protect their feelings.
2. Part 2 of the article contains a composition qualified according to the place where the crime was committed: places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies (see Article 16 of the Federal Law of September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and religious associations").
3. The second corpus delicti from the point of view of the objective side is characterized by alternatively provided actions.
Obstruction of the activities of religious organizations should be understood as restriction of the activities of religious organizations in any form (for example, refusal to register a religious organization, closure of places and facilities intended for worship); by obstructing the conduct of worship services, other religious rites and ceremonies - depriving citizens of the opportunity to perform rituals, ceremonies, etc., dictated by their faith. in any form whatsoever. Destruction or damage to property, etc. Criminal actions during the commission of the crime in question are qualified in conjunction with Art. 148 of the Criminal Code. However, the use of violence or the threat of its use is qualified only under paragraph “b” of Part 4 of the article, forming a set of crimes only in the case of causing moderate harm to health or serious harm.
4. These actions must be illegal, i.e. be committed in violation of the procedure established by law (i.e. Federal Law of September 26, 1997 N 125-FZ “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”) of the state regulation of the activities of religious associations.
Who was tried and for what?
In February 2021, a trial began in Stavropol in the case of blogger Viktor Krasnov, who wrote in a dispute on the social network VKontakte that “There is no God,”
and called the Bible “a collection of Jewish tales.”
The examination found Krasnov sane. In February 2021, the case was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
In April 2021, the Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg sent local resident Anton Simakov for compulsory treatment
to a psychiatric clinic.
In October 2014, Simakov performed a “rite” in his office using a voodoo doll, the blood of a sacrificial animal, and also objects of Christian worship.
Simakov left the hospital in January 2021.
In April 2021, the Orenburg court fined 35 thousand rubles.
teacher of Orenburg Medical University Sergei Lazarov.
In 2013,
in the article “Evil Christ”, published on Lazarov’s website, negative epithets were given in relation to Christ
- “murderer” and “tyrant”.
In July 2021, the Kirov Regional Court found guilty under Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by Konstantin Kazantsev and Rustem Shaidullin.
According to investigators, they
hung a homemade effigy with an offensive inscription on a worship cross
in the village of Staraya Malinovka. Each received 230 hours of correctional labor.
In July 2021, the Elista City Court sentenced Said Osmanov, an athlete from Dagestan, to two years of probation.
Osmanov
hit a Buddha statue in a Buddhist temple and urinated on it,
and then posted the video on the Internet.
Second commentary to Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
1. The object of the crime is freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, including the right to profess any religion, freely choose, have and disseminate religious beliefs and act in accordance with them (Article 28 of the Russian Federation).
2. The objective side of the crime in question is expressed in public actions that express clear disrespect for society (on the concept of actions expressing clear disrespect for society, see the commentary to Article 213 of the Criminal Code of Russia).
The crime is completed from the moment of committing public actions expressing clear disrespect for society.
3. The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16.
4. The subjective side of the crime is characterized by direct intent and a special purpose - insulting the religious feelings of believers.
5. The objective side of the crime is characterized by an act (action or inaction) - illegal obstruction of the activities of religious organizations or the conduct of services, other religious rites and ceremonies.
6. The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16.
7. The subjective side is direct intent.
What lawyers say
Andrey Knyazev, Chairman of the Knyazev and Partners Bar Association:
“This amendment to the Criminal Code is absolutely unnecessary. We have criminal penalties for hooliganism, and this should be applied to such types. Insolence, disrespect for society - this is all hooliganism. For some reason, our society has begun to be divided into believers and non-believers, and then they will be divided separately into communists and homosexuals.”
Petr Skoblikov, Doctor of Law:
“Sokolovsky was convicted not for catching Pokemon in the temple, but for committing an illegal act. He visited the temple, where he secretly filmed catching Pokemon, after which he returned home and made a video in which he superimposed an audio sequence with offensive obscene language addressed to believers and the prayer procedure on the filmed video. And then he made this video public by posting it on the Internet for public viewing... This article protects not only the feelings of believers, it protects the human right to something dear and sacred.”
Vadim Volkov, scientific director of the Institute of Law Enforcement Problems at the European University in St. Petersburg:
“In this case, the trial is illustrative. Sokolovsky is a popular video blogger with many subscribers. Criminal repression against such people is a way of state intimidation.”
Evgeniy Tonkiy, managing partner of the Tonkiy and Partners group:
“In most cases, Article 148 is pulled by the ears. The concept of insult to personality is defined by the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and does not raise any questions, but insult to feelings is a new concept for the Russian legal system. The current version of Art. 148 does not comply with the rules of logic and legal technique, since it consists only of evaluative categories not explained by the legislator.”
Maria Bast, Chairman of the Association of Lawyers for Human Rights:
“Since the 19th century, no one has been imprisoned or burned at the stake for denying God - and suddenly such an article. There is a complete feeling that they are again trying to drag us into this dense Middle Ages.”
Evgeny Kozichev, Evgeny Fedunenko, Olga Shkurenko, group “Direct Speech”
How can you determine whether specific statements are offensive?
The goal of a destructive, humiliating impact on the value system of believers was introduced by the legislator into the design of the norm as a mandatory element of the composition. Without it, it is impossible to prosecute.
To understand what the essence of insult is, it is worth turning to administrative legislation, since in 2011 this act was decriminalized and included in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Article 5.61).
Insult is understood as actions or statements that humiliate another person, expressed in an indecent form.
This offense should be distinguished from libel – the dissemination of knowingly false information that damages the reputation of the victim.
As can be seen from the above definitions, providing truthful information to outsiders can also be considered an insult, but in a form that is not generally accepted and causes rejection among people.
Regarding insults to the views of believers, to insult means:
- Act publicly.
- Express through your actions a clear disregard for social norms and rules.
- To humiliate in an indecent manner the worldview of at least two adherents of religions permitted in Russia.
In the presence of the above conditions, in particular, the following offenses can be recognized as criminal: ridicule of theistic canons and dogmas accompanied by obscene language, rude criticism of a person’s personal traits associated with belief, indecent behavior in relation to revered objects of worship, nudity and posing in or in front of temples, putting derogatory texts on T-shirts and much more.
Are all religions equal before the law?
Legislation regulating issues of religious organizations and denominations obliges government institutions to distance themselves from the sphere of activity of associations of believers, if its content does not contradict legal guidelines.
This means that in the event of the birth of any new, non-traditional spiritual community, its founders are required to register with the authorities as a religious association. Having gone through the necessary registration procedures, the association is endowed with the same legal status as common beliefs - Christianity, Islam and other directions.
The same legislation prohibits the formation and functioning of associations whose tasks and content of activities contradict the legal basis.
A violation of the law may occur when a religious organization:
- has a destructive impact on the general security of society;
- engages in extremism;
- destroys family values;
- limits the legal status of a person;
- harms moral public principles, people's health, corrupts them, conducts hypnotic sessions and approves of the use of drugs or psychotropic substances;
- promotes suicide or denial of medical care as an ideology of faith;
- limits the participation of a parishioner and his children in compulsory educational programs;
- forces followers to transfer property rights free of charge in favor of third parties or the association itself;
- calls for violation of legal norms and regulations;
- forcibly retains members of the association within its composition.
If a religious community carries out at least one of the above actions, the competent law enforcement agencies will suspend its functioning in court or take measures to liquidate the association as a legal entity.
To summarize, we can say that all religions and their followers have the same rights and bear equal responsibilities as long as they are within the legal framework established by the state.
The attitude of international organizations towards insulting religious feelings
Council of Europe
On 29 June 2007, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg adopted recommendation 1805 (2007) on blasphemy, religious insults and incitement to hatred based on religious differences. The recommendation sets out proposals for Council of Europe member states, taking into account Articles 10 (freedom of speech) and 9 (freedom of thought and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Assembly decided that blasphemy should not be a criminal offence.[72]
Instead of blasphemy - or in addition to it - in some European countries there is the concept of “insulting religion”, which is prohibited in Andorra, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine , Finland, Croatia, Czech Republic and Switzerland[73].
On October 23, 2008, the Venice Commission, the advisory body of the Constitutional Affairs Council, issued a report on sacrilege. The report's findings include the following statements: “including religious insults as an offense is not necessary or desirable” and “blasphemy should be removed as an offence.”
