The Ministry of Justice in the Primorskiy region, Russian Far East, issued a warning to the regional Muslim organization for violating the new law about rallies by gathering the traditional religious namaz prayer on the streets of the city of Vladivostok.
The "Kaziyatskiy muslim organization" was warned that it was in violation of the new law, which tightens rules for public events, by “systematically organizing public events, including religious ones.”
According to the Ministry, the warning was made after numerous complaints from the citizens about the muslims who took part in public religious events and performed their religious rituals near residential houses, including roads and adjacent territories.
Officials have decided that the organization violated the newly passed rally law because it did not submit an official application for the "public event."
The new controversial law was passed in early June after an opposition rally in Moscow on May 6 had ended with disturbances and clashes with police. It provides for raising fines violating public rally regulations up to 300 000 rubles (some $10,000) for individuals or, as an alternative, 200 hours of community work.
Author: Julia Alieva