Russian citizen faces prison time for posting atheistic comments online
Viktor Krasnov, a Russian citizen, may face imprisonment for a discussion on the internet in which he denied the existence of God, Golos Ameriki reports
The 38-year-old appeared in a closed hearing in a Stavropol court on Wednesday. If the court finds him guilty of violating the 2013 law on insulting the feelings of believers, he may face a prison term of up to one year.
This controversial law was passed after an incident with punk band, Pussy Riot, in the main cathedral of Moscow. Members of the band were imprisoned for reciting the “punk prayer” where they called on the Virgin Mary to rid the country of President Vladimir Putin.
A well-known human rights organization stated that in this situation, Krasnov’s right to freedom of conscience was violated.
The charges brought against Krasnov relate to his comments on the VKontakte social network site in October 2014.During the discussion on the site, two young men were describing the traditional idea of a Christian family. Krasnov then wrote that “there is no God”.
“This is an absurd hearing, but it fits perfectly into the framework of the aggressive policy of the Russian government. They suppress freedom of speech on the Internet by using numerous restrictive laws that were approved after the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin,” Tatyana Lokshina, the Russian program director at Human Rights Watch, said. “The law on “insulting the feelings of believers” has become another tool created by the authorities to restrict the freedom of self-expression in Russia”.