July 12, 2010

'Orthodoxy or Death!' T-shirt Russian Controversy


Prosecutor's Office Urges To Consider Orthodoxy or Death! T-shirt Extremist

July 12, 2010
Interfax

A T-shirt with words Orthodoxy or Death! depicting Orthodox symbols and sculls is pressed to be considered extremist.

The Moscow Lyublino District court received a correspondent complaint from the Lyublino Prosecutor's Office after summing up results of the check conducted in the Antireligia group at social website Vkontakte.ru where the T-shirt image was displayed, the court told Interfax-Religion on Monday.

The Russian Forensic Investigation Federal Center at the Russian Justice Ministry is to hold a sociological, psychological and linguistic expertise. Once the expert report is ready, legal proceedings will be resumed to fix a court session. The group administrator is a respondent.

The experts are to answer such questions as what is the T-shirt message, if this image aims at inciting religious hostility, promotion of exclusiveness, superiority or inferiority of citizens basing on their attitude to religion.

Many Orthodox believers wear such T-shirts. The Alisa rock band leader Konstantin Kinchev puts it on at some of his concerts.