As you know, September 23, the Court of Khakassia with presidency of Judge Fishman made a verdict under the case, brought by the Office of the Procurator of Khakassia "in defense of interests of State and society" against the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Khakasia, and canceled the state registration of the ELMK. After that the Mission appealed to the Supreme Court of Russian Federation.
And now judges with presidency of Judge V. Nechaev found the arguments of Khakasian public prosecutors not enough weighty. The Supreme Court abolished the verdict of Khakassian Court, and send the case to additional inquire.
"It's a little bit pity, it means that the case is not won yet. But the main thing happened: far-fetched and unjust verdict of the Khakassian court abolished. I should say that I just could not imagine another outcome of the case. I could not imagine how would I return from Moscow to my laymen and say that our Mission is closed. The Supreme Court considered pretensions to us from the side of Khakassian public persecutors objectively, and found them not enough weighty to close our Mission.
So we can continue our work for Christ freely.
Of course, we understand that persecutions of Lutherans in Khakasia will not stop now. But we are glad to win this moral victory. We know that God is with us. I want to add that during the trial Moscow lawyers Vladimir Rjakhovsky and Anatoly Pchelintsev were defending us", said the ELMK director Rev. Pavel Zayakin.
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EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN MISSION IN KHAKASSIA
Tel/fax +7 390 35 98 293+++
Rev. Vsevolod Lytkin
P.O. Box 87
Novosibirsk 630058
Russia
Tel. +7 38 32 333 868
FAX +7 38 32 333 317