The question of which article for insulting a person can be presented in a given situation is quite relevant at present. If we talk about such a delicate topic as the rights of a believer, it is worth paying special attention to their protection. The state in this case has prescribed such a provision. The article for insulting and defamation takes place in Russian law, so you need to carefully monitor what you say. Otherwise, you can earn money on a criminal case.
Law protecting past and present rights of believers
In 2013 in 148 Art. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation lawmakers have introduced amendments that regulate the protection of the rights of a believer. Prior to this, the article prescribed criminal liability for an act that impedes the serving of a religious ceremony, and the new one slightly corrected it. The modern edition provides for punishment for insulting the feelings of the faithful, committed in a public form and thereby showing a clear disrespect for the person, her faith.
It is enough to note that Russian legislation provides for the protection of religious rights in other norms. For example, part 2 of article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation prescribes responsibility for religious hatred, and Art. 282 - punishment for inciting hostile feelings, humiliation of personal dignity, including in relation to religion, art. 214 of the Criminal Code - for vandalism. Along with this, the Administrative Code today also contains responsibility for violation of rights and freedoms to practice faith at one’s discretion, vandalism in relation to literature, symbolism and religious building: a temple, mosque or cathedral.
Article for insulting the feelings of believers
So, the Criminal Code provides that a crime is considered such that it offends the feeling and rights of a believer, if it falls under such signs:
- it is done publicly;
- the act should clearly indicate disrespect for the rights and feelings of the faithful;
- the purpose of such an act is to insult a person, his feelings and rights.
An insult to the feeling of a man of faith: what does the law mean by this?
If we talk about the points outlined above, it is the latter that should be disassembled in more detail and detail. Of course, in the norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation there is no clear definition of this terminology, but according to general concepts we can talk about:
- Under the honor and dignity of a believing person it is necessary to mean an assessment of a person from a moral point of view both by himself and by society. The law does not prescribe and designate a more specific distinction;
- the form of expression itself must be clearly indecent, in particular, not comply with the social moral standards that are accepted in society.
What act is punishable according to the law
Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation prescribes punishment for insulting the feeling of a trustee. If we consider this disposition in more detail, then we can talk about the following. At the very beginning, this is an insult. Here the wording itself and the meaning of what was said are important. The law also prescribes punishment for obstructing the activities of a religious organization during a particular ceremony. Speaking about the religious associations and communities themselves, the law distinguishes 2 types, namely:
- a group by which the law means a union of people that is voluntary in nature and that have the same religion. Here, all the property used for a religious ritual, a rite, in this regard is in the ownership of a particular parishioner.
- an organization when the latter is appropriately registered with state bodies and has existed for 15 years or more, and the number of its parishioners is from 10 or more.
By virtue of this, in order to hold him accountable for the insult to the feelings of the believer, he must be a member of a specific registered organization. Otherwise, such people can talk about prosecuting for a violated right in the manner prescribed by the Civil Code or the Code of Administrative Offenses.
How to determine if it is an insult or not?
In this case, the answer to this question is given by linguists, making a distinction in terminology and the meaning of words. In particular, they highlight specific signs, the presence of such suggests that there was not just an insult, but an insult:
- the statement itself is a negative attitude towards a religious community, a group of believers, or to a specific person who shares certain religious views or beliefs;
- this statement is addressed to a specific association of faiths, a believer, or is designed to be communicated to them;
- the negative statement itself gives a negative characteristic of the person of the victim;
- the statement is dressed in indecent form: swearing, swearing phrase, desecration of symbols and so on;
- the statement itself was voiced in public form, in particular through the Internet, the media, expressed in the presence of witnesses;
- the statement itself is directly aimed at humiliating the honor and dignity of the believer.
If at least one of the above items is missing, law enforcement officers will not initiate criminal proceedings and bring the perpetrator to justice.
Is every religion in Russia protected by law?
The Constitution of the Russian Federation classifies Russia as a civilized country, giving it the right to choose faith or to be an atheist, when all religions are equal and none of them is obligatory for citizens. At the same time, the federal law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” stipulates that the Orthodox faith is elevated to a special level in the country, although other religions are also respected and respected, unlimited in rights and have support and protection from state bodies. Although many people perceive and apply the insult to the feelings of the believer more to Orthodoxy, this does not mean that law enforcement officers will not protect legitimate rights and the interests of other religions and teachings. Actively discussed at the present time and such a question as an article for insulting the Internet.
