Ask a question to the lawyer on duty, the Lawyer is ready to answer your question Commentary on Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion

To believe or not to believe in God is a personal matter for each person.

To worship a Christian or Muslim god, to venerate pagan gods as a deity, or to be an atheist and not profess any religion is the principle of freedom of conscience and religion, which is spelled out in Art. 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Any actions that interfere with the principle of religious freedom will be recognized as a criminal offense in 2021. In current legislation, this is called insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and is strictly prosecuted by law.

What constitutes an insult to the feelings of believers, and what responsibility hooligans face—the material in this article will tell you about it.

Is it possible to hold the offender accountable?

It will be necessary to prove that the non-believer by his actions insulted the religious feelings of people.
Federal legislation does not define what exactly religious feelings will be. According to the comments made on the Penal Code, deep affection and faith in the object of worship should be considered religious feelings. An example is the performance of the Pussy Riot group at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The band members received real sentences for a punk prayer performed in a church. The court assessed the performance not only as a violation of the feelings of believers, but also as hooliganism. Not every negative statement can be regarded as humiliating the feelings of believers. For example, it is impossible to say unambiguously whether the lines from the song “I hide the cross from my neck” are a humiliation of the feelings of believers or not. To correct this misunderstanding, a linguistic examination is carried out. The study is ordered by the court. Experts give their answer after conducting the research.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=T7FIKwA5PhM%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Let's file a complaint

Let's figure out in what cases it is necessary to file a complaint. Let's consider in what situations one can seek protection from this article, and in what situations it does not even make sense. Let's talk about where and when you have to complain in case of violation of religious order by third parties. We will also familiarize ourselves with a sample of filling out such complaints.

When and why

Even five years ago, when this law was adopted, on the Internet one could come across protests from non-believers who, in their opinion, had religion imposed on them.
Rallies were held about the “religious dictatorship,” as they called it. At the same time, believers were outraged by the adoption of such an article, since, in their opinion, it is almost impossible to offend their feelings due to their faith.

Indeed, believers do not impose their worldview on other people, and even more so, they never reproach anyone. At least they don't do it verbally, explicitly.

Therefore, despite their right to file a claim against the offender for insulting their feelings, for the most part they simply do not want to and will not do this. After all, you can’t force someone to believe in something, and it’s just ridiculous. And for them there is a Supreme Court, which is not on earth.

And in judicial practice, vandalism in places intended for worship predominates. Or obscene words addressed to parishioners, but they, as a rule, have a fairly general context. But the world still remembers the blatant case of insulting believers by the punk group “Pussy Riot”. Then the entire believing part of the population rose up and rallied, and the criminals were sent to a maximum security prison for two years. It is precisely such cases that must be stopped with tough, but legal, actions.

As for the so popular social networks. Whenever you notice actions aimed directly at offending religious feelings, you can report this to the administrators of this service. This is still a violation, and the culprit can be punished.

Where and how to apply

Demonstrative actions aimed at insulting are already a direct violation of order . Therefore, you can safely contact the police department. And there are situations when you just need to immediately take some action and call the squad. It all depends on the case.

The complaint is written in any form. It must reflect the following:

1. If the criminal is known, then it is necessary to indicate his name, signs or describe in detail.
2. State what specific actions were taken by the attacker to outrage the feelings of adherents of any religion.
3. List all those affected by these actions.

It is possible that thanks to a detailed presentation of the circumstances of the case, the offender will be held accountable under several articles at the same time.

How to 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:

1. Act publicly.
2. Express through your actions a clear disregard for social norms and rules.
3. 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.

How to defend yourself against charges under this article

If you are someone who is unreasonably accused of this kind of insult, then you need to take at least some measures to protect yourself, since the above-mentioned article provides many loopholes for this.
So, in this case, the following actions are possible in court in order to recognize the inconsistency of the charges under this article of the Law:

1. Insist that there were no victims and petition the court to have the case dismissed.
2. If the victims are still found, write a counter-statement about the presence of a deliberately false denunciation. You can write that the plaintiff is not a believer at all, but is trying to take advantage of the law to extort money, etc.

Then the believer will have to prove that he really is a fairly religious person, and also do it with documentation. But how he will do this is an interesting question...

As a rule, the case in this case is closed for lack of sufficient evidence precisely under the article “Insulting the feelings of believers.” In the worst case, you will get off with an administrative penalty if you did commit some illegal actions towards the plaintiff.

Punishable acts

It is possible to bring to criminal liability under this article persons (or persons) who have committed unlawful acts in relation to a religious organization, that is:

• openly and rudely spoke out against its adherents;
• tried to disrupt religious events;
• caused damage to the property of a religious organization;
• threatened members of a religious organization.

The talk about religious organizations in the article is not accidental. In Russia, all associations of believers are divided into two large types: groups and organizations. The first ones are officially registered and have been operating in the country for at least 1 year. The second are voluntary associations that are not required to formally register. That is, in order to bring to justice a person who committed an illegal act that offended the feelings of believers, the believers themselves need to be united in an organization. Naturally, in the absence of a religious organization, it is also possible to bring the hooligan to justice. But other articles will be used.

Differences from related crimes

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation already contains several articles that contain religious signs of criminal motives. For example, they are in articles about murder, hooliganism and vandalism. So why do we need another article?

To explain its relevance, let's give a simple example. A religious person tries to achieve enlightenment, perform some ritual, sacrament, or pray in a sacred place specially designated for this. But he is prevented from doing this by another dishonest person who, being next to him in the same room or place, verbally tries to discredit everything that is dear to the first person in his religion.

As we can see, the attacker does not exert physical force, does not engage in vandalism, or kills. But, nevertheless, it causes deep mental trauma to a person who has a religion. It is precisely for such cases that Article 148 was created. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Find out what the consequences of online libel are and how to file a complaint.

Here is a guide on what to do if a teacher abuses a student.

How can you protect yourself from insults?

A citizen has the opportunity to protect his rights by going to court. According to the law, the plaintiff must be given a clear justification of what exactly the violation is. It is necessary to clarify exactly how the feelings of believers were offended. Attach audio and video recordings to the claim, rely on the testimony of witnesses.

Important! In our country you can choose who to be: a believer or an atheist. There is only one condition - to respect other people's choices

To insult another person's chosen religion is to break the law.

Each state (Kazakhstan, USA, France and others) has its own attitude towards blasphemy. Thus, in the USA, freedom of speech comes first, so people are not persecuted for having a negative attitude towards religion.

In Russia, posts on social networks and videos with offensive content are also a violation of the law. In order for victims to protect their rights, they need to be prepared. To do this, scans of pages are notarized. The cost of work is determined by notary fees. A protocol drawn up based on the results of the inspection will confirm that an insult actually occurred.

So, you need to be respectful of the choices made by other people. If it is proven that the accused actually used offensive language and humiliated the religious feelings of other people, he will have to bear responsibility. Currently there is no bill or current federal law (FL) that establishes which religion is the main one for Russians. Therefore, they can be punished not only for insulting Christians, but also for humiliating the feelings of believers professing other religions - Buddhism, Judaism, Islamism, etc. However, most cases are controversial. It is necessary to determine whether humiliation for religious reasons actually took place, or whether the accused was simply making a bad joke.

How to prove the crime

The main problem during trials under this article is proving the existence of the crime and the guilt of the criminal himself.
The difficulty here is that it is necessary to prove his direct intent, that is, that the criminal intended to directly offend the feelings of citizens about their religion, and not any of their other feelings.
In other words, the conflict had to begin precisely on religious grounds, and criminal actions had to show disrespect for the entire society of believers as a whole.

In addition, this legal act does not say anything about how exactly one can offend the feelings of believers, with what phrases, etc. For example, in the case of insulting a person, obscene words are considered such manifestations - everything is clear here.

But in this case, it turns out that the concept of “insult” is quite vague and not at all specific. After all, what is the norm of communication for one person can become rude and offensive behavior for another. So everything is relative.

Moreover, the victims will still need to prove that they belong to this faith, recognized by the legislation of the Russian Federation, and also follow it. Otherwise, this article will not work. In this case, it is very desirable to have uninterested persons who can confirm what has been said.

For those parts of the article that talk about actions in public, the best evidence will be the testimony of a large number of witnesses. They can be found among victims, and among just random passers-by, and among drivers passing by with DVRs in their vehicles.

The main thing is not to be afraid to defend the right to religion if it has been affected. The court will most likely support the victim if he poses absolutely no danger to society and is also legal.

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.”

What are “religious feelings”?

It is almost impossible to answer this question accurately. Each judge himself defines the concept of “religious feelings” and uses it in court proceedings. And it will depend only on his views whether the insult can be considered religious or not. However, there are several definitions of “religious feelings” that courts most often use:

• Religious feelings - a strong psychological attachment of a group of citizens to the object of worship of their religion;
• Religious feelings are the emotions that a group of citizens experiences towards their religion and its canons as a whole;
• Religious feelings - attachment to religious rituals and their importance in the daily life of a group of believers.

Cases of sentences for insulting the feelings of believers

Including the verdict against Ruslan Sokolovsky, the media published information about six verdicts under parts 1 and 2 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The first verdict under Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was handed down in September 2014 by a magistrate judge of judicial district No. 2 of the Pervomaisky district of Izhevsk. A local resident (his name was not given) posted on the social network VKontakte “information aimed at insulting the religious feelings of believers (Muslims).” The magistrate sentenced him to 200 hours of community service.

On February 24, 2021, in Orenburg, the court rendered a verdict against Sergei Lazarov. In 2013, he posted an article on his website that contained sharp attacks against Orthodox Christianity. In April 2021, Lazarov was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He was sentenced to a fine of 35 thousand rubles. with release from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution.

On July 28, 2021, the Elista City Court sentenced the Dagestan athlete-wrestler Said Osmanov. The reason for the trial was an incident: an athlete entered a Buddhist temple, relieved himself there and kicked a Buddha statue in the nose. A criminal case was first opened against Osmanov under Part 2 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and subsequently a charge was added to it under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Inciting hatred on religious and national grounds”). He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for one year.

On April 12, 2021, the Kirovsky District Court of Yekaterinburg decided to send Anton Simakov for compulsory treatment (in his own words, he was a “master of voodoo magic”), against whom a criminal case had previously been opened under Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The reason for the trial was a “rite of magical influence on the Ukrainian authorities” performed by Simakov in the presence of journalists.

On May 31, 2021, the magistrate of court district No. 10 of the Vyatskopolyansky judicial district of the Kirov region found local residents Konstantin Kazantsev and Rustem Shaydullin guilty of placing a homemade effigy with an offensive inscription on a worship cross in the village of Staraya Malinovka (Vyatskopolyansky district) in the fall of the previous year. . The verdict was handed down under Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: each of the accused was sentenced to 230 hours of compulsory labor.

Russian Orthodox Church

The Legal Service of the Moscow Patriarchate commented on the new edition of the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation introduced by the Federal Law of June 29, 2013, which establishes criminal liability for insulting the religious feelings of believers.

Introduced by Federal Law No. 136-FZ of June 29, 2013, the new version of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (CC RF) establishes criminal liability for insulting the religious feelings of believers.

The legal basis for amending the current Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 3 of the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations”, which prohibit obstruction of the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including those associated with deliberate insult to the feelings of citizens in connection with with their attitude towards religion.

Criminal liability for this act is not new in post-Soviet criminal legislation: in 1993 such a norm was included in Article 143 of the current Criminal Code of the RSFSR, and in 1996 it became invalid due to the adoption of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the new edition of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, actions committed in public are subject to criminal prosecution. This means that criminal actions must be committed in the presence of believers whose religious feelings are offended (the number of these persons does not matter), or in their absence, but with subsequent publication of the act, for example, on the Internet or using other means mass media.

By obvious disrespect for society, modern law enforcement practice understands a violation of generally accepted norms and rules of behavior, dictated by the desire of the guilty person to contrast himself with others (in this case in relation to their religious feelings), to demonstrate a disdainful attitude towards them (see, for example, the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 15, 2007 N 45 “On judicial practice in criminal cases of hooliganism and other crimes committed out of hooligan motives”). Thus, both the dance itself on the sole of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the obscene body movements of the dancers were characterized by obvious disrespect for society.

Insulting the religious feelings of citizens previously formed an administrative offense (Article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Currently, this administrative norm has received criminal legal protection, so the use of previous comments to Art. 5.26 Code of Administrative Offenses as applied to Part 1 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code in the new edition.

Thus, insult to religious feelings is understood as disrespectful feedback, gross ridicule of religious dogmas and canons professed by a citizen, or the personal qualities of a citizen associated with his religious affiliation, desecration of objects, signs and emblems of worldview symbols revered by citizens (cynical desecration, humiliation, defamation, mockery).

Public desecration of religious or liturgical literature, objects of religious veneration, signs or emblems of ideological symbols or paraphernalia, or their damage or destruction, committed for the purpose of insulting the religious feelings of citizens, also falls under Part 1 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This crime includes “crusading,” cutting and desecration of icons for “cultural purposes,” and other notorious acts.

The concept of “religious feelings” caused particular objections during the discussion of the draft law. There have even been opinions expressed about the impossibility of defining what relates to religious feelings, and about the lack of legal content in this concept.

However, the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” contains the concepts of “religious beliefs”, “religious feelings”, “objects of religious veneration”. From the analysis of the relationship between these concepts, it is clear that religious are the feelings of a person’s reverent attitude towards what, in accordance with his religious beliefs, is a shrine for him, while such a shrine for a person, undoubtedly, are his religious beliefs, dogmas of religion, personalities and deeds of saints , as well as sacred images and texts, other religious objects, places of religious veneration (pilgrimage).

Part 2 of Article 148 in the new edition regulates cases when these actions (insulting religious feelings) are committed in places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies (for example, the sensational “punk prayer” in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior). Also, burning of temples and writing blasphemous and offensive inscriptions on religious buildings fall under this crime.

For these acts, a fairly severe punishment is established - up to three years in prison with or without restriction of freedom for a period of 1 year.

The Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” includes not only religious buildings and structures, but also other places and objects specifically designed for worship, prayer and religious meetings, as places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies. religious veneration (pilgrimage), in which religious organizations have the right to freely perform divine services, other religious rites and ceremonies - institutions and enterprises of religious organizations, cemeteries and crematoriums, as well as residential premises (clause 2 of article 16).

In addition, these are places specially provided to religious organizations for the purposes of worship, other religious rites and ceremonies, for example, specially allocated by the administration:

• treatment and preventive and hospital institutions
• boarding homes for the elderly and disabled
• orphanages
• institutions executing criminal penalties in the form of imprisonment
• places of detention
• military units

Parts 3 and 4 of Article 148, as amended, establish criminal liability for illegally obstructing the activities of religious organizations or the conduct of services, other religious rites and ceremonies.

Such obstruction is illegal if it violates the provisions of Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Federal Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations.” At the same time, lawful actions of public authorities regarding the control over the activities of religious organizations provided for by law, carried out within the competence of these bodies, are not covered by parts 3 and 4 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

By obstruction, modern law enforcement practice means restricting the activities of religious organizations in any form. This may be the creation of obstacles to the implementation of the statutory activities of a religious organization (for example, the production and distribution of religious objects and religious literature, charitable activities, etc.) or the implementation of rights arising from the content of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion (for example, the rights teach religion to minors).

Obstruction of divine services and other religious rites and ceremonies is understood as a restriction of religious activities provided for by law, expressed, for example, in preventing believers from visiting a temple, holding religious processions, as well as riots in a temple during the Divine Liturgy and other actions to disrupt divine services and other religious ceremonies. and ceremonies.

The legislator identified the commission of these actions by a person using his official position, as well as with the use of violence or the threat of its use, as a special crime, characterized by a greater public danger and provided with a more severe punishment.

It seems that unlawful actions of officials as a result of which religious activity was limited (for example, illegal suspension of the activities of a religious organization by various regulatory authorities) may fall under this category.

Article 2 of Federal Law No. 136-FZ of June 29, 2013 establishes a new version of Article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (CAO RF).

Changes have been made to the size of the sanction in Part 1 (obstruction of the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including the adoption of religious or other beliefs or renunciation of them, joining or leaving a religious association now entails the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of ten thousand to thirty thousand rubles; for officials - from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand rubles - an increase in the amount of the fine up to 100 times), and part 2 of this article.

The previous edition (insulting the religious feelings of citizens or desecration of objects, signs and emblems of ideological symbols revered by them) has been replaced by a new one: deliberate public desecration of religious or liturgical literature, objects of religious veneration, signs or emblems of ideological symbols or paraphernalia, or their damage or destruction is punishable by an administrative fine of in the amount of thirty thousand to fifty thousand rubles for citizens or compulsory work for a period of up to 120 hours, as well as an administrative fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to two hundred rubles for officials.

At the same time, the list of items whose actions constitute an administrative offense, as well as the list of these actions themselves, has been seriously clarified.

I would especially like to note that Part 2 of Article 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides only for acts committed without the purpose of offending the religious feelings of believers. The same actions committed for the purpose of insulting the religious feelings of believers, as noted above, are a criminal offense under Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Patriarchy.ru

Legal advice on comments to Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

• Timur Grikhanov

  Qualification of crimes according to the blanket norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

  norms of international law (part 2 of article 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), international treaties (part 3 of article 11, parts 2 and 3 of article 12, part 2 of article 13), norms of international law (part 4 of article 11), the law of a foreign state (Part 1 of Article 12), penal...

What is a crime?

To answer the question of what kind of insult to faith will be considered criminal, one should refer to the provisions of Art. 14 of Chapter 3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides the official interpretation of the category “crime”.

The type of offense under consideration has all the characteristics that make it possible to classify it as criminal:

• guilt - an act is punishable only if there is a deliberate mental attitude towards it on the part of the offender;
• public danger - disrespect for the feelings of admirers of shrines poses a significant threat to society and can cause significant harm to protected interests;
• illegality - deviant behavior contradicts generally accepted norms of morality and law;
• Punishability - for damage caused (moral, material, etc.), the sanction of a legal norm provides for punishment corresponding to the severity of the offense and the circumstances of its commission.

The listed characteristic features of a criminal tort make it possible to distinguish it from Art. 5.26 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. In addition, the division of related criminal acts and their difference from administrative offenses is determined by the objective side and other elements of the crime.

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.

Criminal legal characteristics

The actions of the perpetrators contain characteristics of hooliganism, as well as qualifying signs of insulting the religious feelings of believers . However, they reflect the specifics of the crime, based on the targeted impact on religious members of society. The main characteristic is the relationship between the act carried out and the consequences perceived by members of the religious organization as an insult to their feelings.

The object of the crime is the ideological values ​​of believers who were publicly disgraced, which led to insult to the feelings of believers.

The objective side of the crime consists of deliberate, planned and motivated actions of an offensive or vandalistic nature directed at religious organizations.

Members of religious organizations are full members of society and their constitutional rights must be protected by the state. At the same time, the offensiveness of the actions must be objective.

The subject of the crime is the offender who has reached the age of 16 and is fully capable.

The subjective side is determined by guilt in the form of direct intent. The attacker not only realizes the guilt of his actions, but also strives to carry them out in such a way that they achieve the immediate goal of religious insult.

Changes in legislation

Until 1997, the version of the Criminal Code in force in the Russian Federation provided for imprisonment for crimes of a religious nature.

According to Art. 143 of this document, violators of established norms were threatened with a fine or imprisonment (up to 3 years).

Any actions that prevented believers from expressing their views and adhering to their chosen religion were considered a violation: violent actions, threats, damage to the property of citizens and public religious organizations, etc.

If illegal actions were expressed exclusively in insults of a public nature and carried out with the involvement of the media, then the term of imprisonment was reduced to 1 year, until a commensurate fine was paid.

From 1997 to 2013, crimes of a religious nature were classified as administrative offenses and were considered by the corresponding article of the code, which is still in force.

During this period, any illegal acts that prevented people from freely expressing their religious beliefs, choosing a religion, or joining organizations entailed the imposition of a fine on the perpetrators.

Also, fines were provided for public desecration, damage, or destruction of religious objects (emblems, symbols).

Amendments in 2013 regarding this issue:

• the onset of criminal liability;
• increase in administrative fines.

Explanation

The law regulating the rights of believers (Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) was amended in 2013. Previously, criminal penalties were provided only for actions that interfered with the performance of religious services and interfered with the activities of religious organizations. Now, any actions committed in public and offending the feelings of representatives of various faiths are considered criminal, that is, we are talking about disrespect for those members of society who are adherents of a particular religion. It is interesting that there was no particular need for such an edition, since the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation already has similar articles that speak of criminal liability in the following cases:

• manifestations of open disrespect for members of society, including believers;
• inciting hatred in society, including on the basis of religion;
• desecration of religious buildings and structures, direct vandalism.

It is also interesting that an article similar to modern 148 was already in domestic legislation and was in force for several years (from 1993 to 1996). The only difference between that article and the modern one is the fact that publishing one’s insults in the media was considered a qualifying criterion. Now this issue is not considered in such detail. There is also an administrative article in the legislation that imposes administrative punishment for offenses in the religious sphere, although it does not directly deal with insulting believers and their feelings. The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation regulates only freedom of conscience and religion, and also provides penalties for vandalism of religious buildings and symbols. Thus, it turns out that there was no particular need for such a radical editing of the law, but, nevertheless, a decision was made to tighten the measure of legal liability for offenses in this area.

Not a misdemeanor, but a crime ...

So, let us clarify once again: insulting the feelings of believers is now not an offense, but a crime. Naturally, he has certain qualifications:

• publicity;
• showing clear disrespect for society;
• offensive form (obviously readable, without context; insult is, first of all, a thing that can lead to low self-esteem and psychological trauma).

In general, the question of how to distinguish insults from a banal characteristic (personal, for example) is very difficult. Lawyers say that insult has a number of specific characteristics:

• insults must be targeted, and the insulter must understand and even assume that his statement will reach the addressee;
• an insult is a statement that negatively characterizes a believer or believers;
• insult is a statement expressed through swearing, swearing or any other negative form;
• insult is a public statement;
• insult is a statement that insults and humiliates the honor and dignity of a believer.

The last sign of a crime confuses many law enforcement officers, since it directly points to the need to prove direct intent, that is, a direct desire to offend the feelings of believers. This is a rather complex procedure, both from a legal and philosophical point of view. Any lawyer or prosecutor will have to prove that the attacker knew and understood what he was doing and wanted to insult, while the attacker can “press” on the fact that he did not know and did not imagine such consequences of his actions.

What actions can be taken to bring to justice

The victim should file a complaint with the police, or better yet, call officers to the scene of the crime. When filing an application, it is advisable to confirm the fact of committing an offense with witness testimony. The statement should describe in detail the actions of the criminal, his appearance, if he is a stranger, and list the victims of this crime. If the police record the fact of an offense, a criminal case is initiated against the perpetrator.

In addition, the victim himself can file a lawsuit against his offender. In this case, you should appeal to the magistrate’s court, since in accordance with Art. 131 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the magistrate considers criminal cases for which the punishment in the form of imprisonment does not exceed three years. The statement of claim can also be supported by the testimony of witnesses.

If religious feelings are insulted using the Internet and are addressed to a wide range of people, a citizen can write a statement to the prosecutor's office (you can read more about insulting a person on the Internet here). Based on this request, the prosecutor's office will organize a review of the information posted online with the involvement of experts. If experts identify signs of insulting the feelings of believers, the prosecutor will file an application with the court, and this information resource will be blocked based on a court decision.

It is worth noting: if an offender thinks that he can go unpunished by hiding behind a faceless “nickname,” then this is a big mistake. Nowadays they can easily expose anonymous users of social networks and aggressive commentators by calculating their IP address, and then finding out the rest of the information about the user.

Do these rules apply to all religions or are there exceptions?

This question really interests most believers. It is worth noting that the legislation supports not only three main directions: Buddhism, Islam and Orthodoxy, but also other religious forms. They include not only national religions, but also paganism. In fact, for the legislation there is no difference in what kind of faith the victim chose.

As you can understand, the religious issue of law and freedom has not yet been fully reflected in legislation and there are still a number of gaps. However, one cannot help but notice that gradually judicial practice is creating an ever-increasing basis. Based on these precedents, it can be assumed that over time a separate normative act will appear in Russian legislation that protects the rights of believers.

How the rights of believers are protected in the Russian Federation

In recent years, judicial practice has seen an increasing number of cases involving insults. At the same time, the conversation is not about an ordinary quarrel between neighbors, although this also happens. It has become increasingly fashionable to claim that the feelings of believers are offended.

For some citizens, such formulations seem ridiculous, but the problem is that such a thing can lead to criminal punishment. Over the past year, many video bloggers, correspondents and ordinary citizens have been involved in Russia on this issue, who managed to touch religion and the feelings of believers with words or actions.

How do Russians feel about criminal punishment for insult?

At the same time, not only believers in Orthodoxy, but also representatives of absolutely any religion can be offended. The main directions are Orthodoxy, Buddhism and Islam. Nevertheless, according to legislative norms, it can be understood that a believer of another religious denomination will be able to obtain judicial protection.

Considering the above, it is worth thinking about what exactly is capable of affecting the feelings of a believer so that he decides to seek protection:

1. Insulting the feelings of a believer through public performance.
2. Impeding the activities of a religious group.
3. Committing hooligan acts in places where religious ceremonies are performed.

It should be understood that there is no separate regulatory act that would protect the feelings of believers. To resolve controversial issues, there are separate articles of the Criminal Legislation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.