11 June 2004 01:53
Trial of Sakharov museum chief set for June 15
MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) -Moscow's Tagansky Court on June 15 will begin the trial against Yury Samodurov,
director of the Sakharov Museum and Public Center, museum employee Lyudmila Vasilovskaya, and painter Anna Mikhailchuk,
who are charged with fanning religious feud.
"The hearing will be open to the press," Samodurov's lawyer, Yury Shmidt, told Interfax on Friday.
The lawsuit was filed over several objects displayed in the exhibition 'Beware: Religion!' displayed on
January 14-18, 2004. Among these objects was an icon portraying Jesus Christ on the background of a Coca-Cola ad, which
had the words "This is my blood" on it and the picture of a saint with its head cut out so anyone could put
their head in its place.
The investigators found that the tone of the exhibition "publicly expressed a humiliating and insulting attitude
toward the Christian religion in general and Orthodox Christianity and the Russian Orthodox Church in particular,
especially the religious symbols of orthodox believers."
Samodurov maintains his innocence. [RU EEU EUROPE ASIA EMRG CRIM] av aw
[Interfax] |
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