"Memorial" accuses Moscow Prosecutor's office of illegal censorship and violation of the freedom of speech

The "Memorial" international society has made a statement about a warning given to the "Memorial" for publishing the results of an independent expert study.

"On February 26, 2006, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office gave a written warning "On Inadmissibility of Violation of the Law" to E. B. Zhemkova, executive director of the International Historical and Educational, Charity and Human Rights society "Memorial". The reason was the publication on the "Memorial" site of an expert opinion by Nafigulla Ashirov, mufti of Asian Russia, on four brochures of "Khizb ut-Takhrir", organization which is prohibited in Russia (http://www.memo.ru/hr/jbl/doc/2005ashirov.htm)," runs the statement.

"The Prosecutor's Office accuses "Memorial" of violating the RF Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity." As has become known, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office considered the question of initiating a criminal case in connection with the publication on the "Memorial" site, but it was decided to issue a warning.

In our opinion, this is nothing else but a limitation of the freedom of speech, an attempt of illegal censorship which runs counter to the Constitution and RF international obligations.

N. Ashirov's opinion was prepared at the request of Svetlana Gannushkina, chair of the "Civil Assistance" Committee", member of the "Memorial" human rights centre, in connection with the fact that, starting from autumn 2004, in the regions of Central Russia, Volga, Urals and Siberia, scores of criminal case have been initiated against citizens of Russia and CIS countries accused of storing, reading and dissemination of "Khizb ut-Takhrir" publications. No competent religious expert study has been made on any of the cases.

Mufti Nafigulla Ashirov is a recognized Russian expert, has a higher Islamic education. Having studied the brochures "System of Islam," "Islamic Personality," "Khizb ut-Takhrir" and "The Concept of Khizb ut-Takhrir", he makes a conclusion that there are no calls for violence, inciting inter-ethnic hostility, infringement of the rights of citizens on the basis of religious attitudes, insulting religious feelings or human dignity of representatives of other confessions in the above brochures. He also notes the illegitimate use in the judicial investigation documents of such phrases as "implied calls" or "indirect incitement of hostility" in order to substantiate the extremist nature of certain Islamic publications. The expert doubts the legitimacy of initiation of criminal cases against distributors of such publications, which, in his opinion, runs counter to the RF Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations."

Obviously, the expert's opinion may or may not match the official approach. However, the RF legislation guarantees him the right to express and publish such opinion. Therefore, the accusation that, by publishing such opinion, the "Memorial" has violated article 12 of the Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity" and "used public networks for conducting extremist activity" look absurd and strange.

Similarly absurd is the reference of the prosecutor's office to article 17 of the above law, which prohibits dissemination of materials of a prohibited organization or, equally, other information products containing materials of such organization. The Ashirov's text does not represent "materials" of the said organization, it even does not contain any citations of such materials.

With such arbitrary and wide interpretation of the law, any public critics of a court ruling prohibiting this or that organization or any publication which cites, even with critical commentaries, the publications of a prohibited organization may be considered as criminal "extremist activity." Thus, any publicly expressed doubt that the accusation of an organization or a person of terrorist activity is justified, may be interpreted by the authorities as justification of terrorist acts. This is how the prosecutor's office treats the "Memorial" society.

It is noteworthy that the warning of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office is based on some "report of the socio-psychological expert study" compiled by unknown authors, the text of which the "Memorial" representatives have been acquainted with.

The "warning" of the Prosecutor's Office also contains a reference to the RF Supreme Court decision of February 14, 2003, the text of which has not been published either.

The "Memorial" society regards the actions of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office as contradicting the RF Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and intends to appeal against the "warning" in court," runs the statement of the HRC "Memorial."