Justice Ministry's stance in ECHR in Kolyasnikov vs. Russia case limits no constitutional rights of believers - ministry's press service
MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - The Russia Justice Ministry says that its stance in the Strasbourg Court regarding a lawsuit filed by Sochi resident Alexei Kolyasnikov, who was fined in 2014 following collective reading of the Bible in a cafe, is based on the court judgments that came into effect and does not encroach on the constitutional rights of believers.
"The Russian Justice Ministry's position on this case is based on the provisions of the aforementioned law and the court judgments in effect handed down on the plaintiff," the Justice Ministry's press service told Interfax in response to the relevant question.
"This standpoint cannot be considered as limitation of the freedom of conscience and religious rights of people guaranteed by the Russian Constitution," the ministry said.
"Domestic legal instances held the plaintiff of the Kolyasnikov vs. Russia claim accountable in a way of an administrative fine not for 'collective Bible reciting' but for breaching requirements set in the federal law 'On gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets'," it said.
"The Bible reading in the cafe should be coordinated with the authorities, because it is necessary to ensure safety of people, who take part in a sermon and cafe visitors," the Vedomosti newspaper reported earlier, referencing to Russian envoy to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Mikhail Galperin's stance on the Alexei Kolyasnikov case.
Kolyasnikov was fined in 2014 for breaching the rules of a mass event following the issuance of a protocol for collective Bible reciting at the Sochi cafe without preliminary coordination with the authorities.
The ECHR asked several questions regarding the lawsuit, in particular, whether the fine is a breach of the right for freedom of faith, the edition said.