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April 14, 2006
Russia: Muslim Cartoons Claim New Victim
The furore concerning the cartoons of Mohammed, which were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in late September last year have claimed lives and careers throughout the Muslim world, where protests have taken place.
The Irish Examiner reports that today, a Russian newspaper editor has become the latest victim of the affair.
Anna Smirnova was today found guilty in a Vologda city court, of inciting religious strife, by reproducing the Danish images in the weekly newspaper Nash Region. She was said to have deliberately stirred up religious hatred, and had abused her position. She was given a fine of 100,000 roubles ($3,609 US). Her husband, who owned the newspaper, called the decision "absurd" and said that Anna would appeal. The newspaper has since ceased its publication.
Mikhail Smirnova told Associated Press by telephone from Vologda: "On the contrary, the publication was aimed against stirring up religious hatred." The newspaper published a collage of the cartoons on February 15, but has since ceased as a publication. The depiction of the cartoons in Nash Region was the first time the cartoons were seen in the Russian press. Mikhail Smirnova closed the newspaper when a scandal erupted.
President Vladimir Putin has claimed it is wrong to publish the cartoons, ostensibly for fear that Russia could become destabilised. There are 20 million Muslims in Russia, almost 14% of the population.
In February, another newspaper in Volgograd, which is in the south, about 500 miles from Moscow, was closed down on the orders of the mayor. The newspaper was Gorodskiye Vesti, and had published a cartoon depicting the prophet.
It appears that the Soviet mindset is still alive in modern Russia. And once again, those who support freedom of speech are becoming the State's victims.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at April 14, 2006 6:15 PM
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