Insulting the feelings of believers in Russia is a criminal offense. Only it is far from always possible to bring a violating citizen to justice. And if it turns out to be done, then you have to try pretty hard. In some cases, even understanding the law is not worth it - painfully light measures are applied in practice to violators who offend believers. Therefore, many try to either completely close their eyes to the event, or somehow struggle with the problem on their own. Nevertheless, in Russia there is a law to insult the feelings of believers. More precisely, the Criminal Code contains an article that regulates the penalties imposed for a committed act. It spells out possible cases and norms that help the judicial authorities to take the right measures to prevent repeated violations of freedom and religion. So what can one count on in one case or another?
To the public
Insulting the feelings of believers can be punished by various methods. It all depends on how the crime was committed. Of course, circumstances and even small details can influence the court decision. Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation begins with the fact that it offers the most simple and not very serious measures for simply insulting the feelings of believers and human freedoms in public. That is, in a public place, without any aggravating circumstances. In general, the punishments for this act can be different. Some measures do not scare anyone and do not turn away from public insults aimed at faith and human freedom.
For example, you should pay attention to the fine for insulting the feelings of believers. It can be different, depending on the severity of the crime. If there were no aggravating circumstances, one can hope for not the most difficult punishment. Most often, as you might guess, a monetary penalty is imposed.
The law on insulting the feelings of believers states that for a simple offense, which is not burdened by any other circumstances, you will have to pay up to 300,000 rubles. In principle, this is almost as much as in practice they pay for moral damage. Or cash payments can be expressed as any offenderās income. The criminal will pay the amount that the court will make him, but it should not exceed the citizenās profit for more than 2 years. It is these rules that are established in Russia at the moment.
To work
Insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) may also be punished by community service. True, the duration thereof will vary depending on the specific situation. Most often, cases that do not have any aggravating circumstances are considered. For example, what is supposed to be for the violation described in the first part of this article? We are talking about cases where an insult to religious freedom occurred publicly, but not in some religious institutions.
That is, you can not only get a fine. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, insulting the feelings of believers is also punishable by community service. Mandatory or compulsory. Not so common measures, but they do occur. In practice, a cash payment is most often assigned. It is considered both less unpleasant and more effective. Mandatory work in the commission of such a crime will last up to 240 hours, and forced work is several times longer. The court has the right to make a decision, according to which social work lasts up to 12 months. This is a more serious measure, but, as practice shows, it does not particularly encourage offenders to comply with the laws. But the fine is quite.
Behind bars
Insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148) is not only public works and cash payments. These are also more serious measures, as well as consequences. In practice, without aggravating circumstances, the next scenario is extremely rare, but it does occur. It is about imprisonment.
That is, for insulting the feelings of believers, you can get behind bars. If you just committed this crime in a public place, be afraid! Indeed, in such a situation, imprisonment in colonies of different regimes (at the discretion of the court, more often correctional or general) takes place for a maximum of 1 year. Not too much, but not enough.
Fortunately, as already mentioned, a similar alignment of events rarely takes place. Indeed, insulting feelings and freedoms in Russia very often is simply not considered a criminal offense due to the lack of lawsuits from victims. Nobody needs extra proceedings, especially if someone simply insulted your faith in a public place. This, unfortunately, is not so rare to immediately flee to court. Although by law you have every right to do so. And use it or not, decide on your own.
Special places
The article āInsulting the feelings of believersā (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is, as we have already found out, a criminal offense. And it is punished by various methods. Some of them are scary, while some are generally a simple formality that does not motivate citizens to comply with laws. More serious measures are applied to violators if an insult to a personās faith occurred in specially designated religious places. For example, in a church or near some altar for worship. This is already considered an aggravating circumstance. And therefore, it is worth preparing for more serious measures to prevent a repeat crime.
The court is able to punish the insults of believers, again, with cash payments. Of course, this is a fine. In this case, it is increasing, and already significantly. A maximum of 500,000 rubles will have to be paid for insulting freedoms and religious rights in specially designated religious places. Or you can lose your own income for 3 years. This is the limit. Not necessarily income should be expressed in the form of wages, keep this in mind. The main thing is that only official profit is taken into account.
Work
An insult to the religious feelings of believers, which was committed in specially designated places for such citizens, is punished, as has already become clear, more seriously than the usual disagreements and humiliations in public. This is all reflected in the fine and in all the other measures listed above. So in Russia there are many laws. That is, the same measures are applied, but at the same time they seem to become more serious.
Public labor for the offense also takes place. Mandatory and forced labor - no one has canceled them. Yes, in practice, insulting the feelings of believers (CC, Article 148, RF) is almost not punishable by such punishments, but according to the law, they take place.
The period of compulsory work will increase. Now, instead of 480 hours of work, you will be entitled to a maximum of 360. This is not so much, if you think about it. Compared to forced. Indeed, from now on their duration will increase several times. Now it will be 3 years maximum. A specific deadline will be set only during the judicial debate, taking into account all the circumstances and events that arose.
To freedom
The law on insulting the feelings of believers, as we have already found out, also implies imprisonment. That is, you can "rattle" behind bars for a certain period. Which and with what consequences depends on numerous circumstances. But, as practice shows, after a complete violation in specially designated religious places, a special rule will be applied to the stumbled. Which one? More about this later.
To begin with, it is worth noting that insulting the feelings of believers (Criminal Code, Article 148) is punishable by imprisonment. If the crime was committed in specially designated places for believers, the duration of punishment will be a maximum of 3 years - as much as forced labor can continue. This is already a really serious measure, which many fear. But at this stage, the punishments do not end there. Article of the Criminal Code "Insulting the feelings of believers" provides for additional measures that will be appointed (or not - at the discretion of the judiciary) after release from prison.
Additionally
The thing is that in the second part of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code, you can see: in addition to imprisonment, they have the right to take special measures against violators. Not the worst, but, one might say, stimulating to correct behavior.
What is it about? In addition to imprisonment, in some cases (which ones, the court will decide in the proceedings in each case), there is also a restriction on freedom. It is also called a suspended sentence. During this, you will be convicted, you will need to report to the police, as well as just take into account that you have committed a crime. Restraint of liberty is just the same serving of punishment, but in our usual environment, during which it is impossible to break the law. Otherwise, in any proceedings, such a measure will be considered as an aggravating circumstance.
For insulting the feelings of believers in specially designated religious places, as well as in areas intended for worship and religious rites, not only deprivation of liberty, but also a suspended sentence is relied on. If it will be assigned to you, keep in mind: its maximum duration is only 1 year. Compared to imprisonment, this figure is negligible. However, as already mentioned, the restriction of freedom is not always implied in the law, as a punishment,. In practice, it takes place in most cases. This is a great motivation to correct your own behavior.
Let
The legislation also addresses very interesting cases. For example, what does a criminal who illegally impedes the activities of religious organizations or similar events rely on? Oddly enough, but this act is also regarded as an insult to the feelings of believers (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). And, of course, certain measures of restraint of the repeated crime will be surely applied to violators. For example, a fine. This, as you can see, is a measure used in most cases. And not only when insulting freedom and faith. In practice, it is prescribed extremely often. In the event of unlawful obstruction of religious rites, as well as obstruction of the legitimate activities of religious associations, a fine shall be imposed. It is exactly the same as with a usual insult - either a maximum of 300,000, or the wage / income of the convicted person for a period not exceeding 24 months. In principle, this measure is already stimulating many.
Mandatory and corrective labor also take place. Only they are not too often appointed when obstructing legal religious activity. Indeed, in the first case, the punishment will last a maximum of 360 hours, in the second - up to 12 months. Not the most serious measures, but they do take place. Compared to insults in public places intended for rituals, the given punishments are not so terrible.
Another, but non-standard measure for our article today is arrest. Insulting the feelings of believers (CC) can be punished with such a measure. In this case, a citizen will be arrested if he impeded the legitimate activities of religious associations, and also interfered with all forces (or tried to do so) to conduct rites. Of course, we are talking only about legal cases, nothing more.
The arrest with such a development of events will not be too long - 3 months, this is the limit. In practice, most often the one who was attracted for insulting the feelings of believers (we already know the list of possible punishments) gets off with a fine and arrest for 15 days. This is quite normal in Russia. Rather, such an event can be called an unwritten law.
Official position
But the article of the Criminal Code does not end there. The thing is that there are some aggravating circumstances that are really punished by the highest measures. Insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148, RF Criminal Code), or rather, an illegal obstruction to religious events in the exercise of one's official position, is indeed a serious crime. And it, as practice shows, is the most severely punished.
For example, a fine. It is not so big here, therefore it is rarely appointed in practice. In total, you will have to pay either up to 200,000 rubles, or your income for a period of up to 1 year. This is not too much if you think about it. Mandatory, corrective and forced labor also take place. In practice, their judicial authorities impose much more often than fines in this case.
How long will this sentence last? It all depends on the type of work assigned. For example, mandatory - 480 hours, forced - 1 year, correctional - 24 months. These terms are considered maximum, in one case or another they can be reduced at the discretion of the court. But in reality this happens extremely rarely.
Imprisonment with some additional measures also takes place. In this scenario, when the violation was accompanied by the use of one's official position, one will have to āsit outā for up to 1 year, as well as lose the right to occupy certain posts and positions (usually leading) for 2 years, as well as carry out one or another activity for the same period. It is this measure (instead of arrest) that will be applied to the offender. Perhaps, when using official position in order to commit an insult to the feelings of believers (article of CC 148), this is the most common case.
Threats and violence
The last situation that can only be considered in our article today is the threat of violence or the direct execution of such actions. We are talking, of course, about cases in which you illegally tried to interfere with religious events, as well as the activities of such organizations.
The thing is that for this violation reliance is already known to us measures of restraint for a repeat crime. Which ones? Exactly the same as for using official position.
That is, you can get a fine in the form of 200 thousand rubles or the recovery of any of your official income for 12 months. In addition, there is a purpose of various types of public works - compulsory, compulsory and corrective. Their maximum duration is already known. It is 480 hours, 12 months and 2 years respectively. It is also possible to go to jail (which one, the court decides), and even lose the additional right to conduct this or that activity. Restrictions also apply to labor. You will not be able to work in any areas, as well as occupy certain posts. In practice, most often we are talking about leadership positions. This kind of restriction is imposed for a maximum of 2 years. But "sit out" will take about a year. Maybe less if so decided by the judiciary.
As you can see, an insult to the feelings of believers (the article regulating the punishment for a crime in a particular case, we know) is really a serious violation. And if you approach the issue correctly, you can always protect your rights and religious freedoms. In practice, as already mentioned, this does not happen too often. After all, rarely will anyone prove that his views were somehow hurt.
The main problem that may arise during the judicial debate is evidence. That is, you will have to prove that you belong to a particular faith, and also follow it. Otherwise, the article will simply not work. At the same time, it is advisable to have some uninterested witnesses who are able to confirm your words.
Of course, the law will act, as has already been said, only if religious rites and events, as well as acts of religious associations are recognized as legal. Otherwise, protection cannot be found. In addition, the above punishments do not apply to faith recognized as dangerous and illegal. For example, on Satanism. Satanists cannot use the law. Insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) does not apply to Satanists, since this "faith" is officially banned in Russia. But everyone else has the full right to operate with Russian law. Such rules are established in the country. As you can see, everything is not as complicated as it seems at first glance. The main thing - do not be afraid to defend your religious rights, if they were affected. The court will certainly take your side if your activity does not pose any danger to society and is adequate, legal.