USCIRF Vice-Chair Criticizes Russian Laws on Extremism

Elizabeth Prodromou, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, spoke Sunday at a conference in Brussels on Religious Freedom in Russia (full text or remarks). She said in part:

Russia faces legitimate, serious threats from groups which advocate or perpetrate violence in the name of religion. This is a major security concern, not just in Russia, but in other nations. There is a problem, however, with Russia's approach to the challenge.  It defines extremism in such a way that religious groups that neither practice nor preach violence fall under that category.  Moreover, Russian authorities apply anti-extremist laws in an overly broad and arbitrary manner.  The result is a repeated and heavy-handed use of the law against religious adherents who pose no credible threat to security, and whose only "crime" is a failure to conform to mainstream ideas and beliefs.

USCIRF issued a press release on the talk.