Russia (bbabo.net), - Religious rites and ceremonies cannot be considered extremist crimes. This was stated by Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia Vyacheslav Lebedev during his speech at a meeting of judges of courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration courts.

As TASS clarifies, in general, the number of people convicted of various extremist crimes increased in 2021. In total, more than 1.2 thousand people were convicted of terrorism and extremism.

"682 persons were convicted for terrorist crimes, and 606 persons were convicted for extremist crimes," Lebedev said.

At the same time, in 2020, 575 people were convicted for terrorism, and 325 for extremism.

"Increased standards of protection of the constitutional rights of citizens are provided by the explanations of the Supreme Court that actions that do not contain signs of extremism and consist solely in the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including through the performance of religious rites and ceremonies, do not constitute a crime," Lebedev said.

At the same time, experts note that the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" clearly defines exactly where religious rites can be performed without hindrance, for example, in residential and places of worship.

An unauthorized attempt to conduct a ceremony in a place not specified in the law, for example, in the subway or the passenger compartment of a bus, is still a violation of the law.

bbabo.Net