Interfax: Russia
Rod Keller
Daily News Bulletin
July 18, 2002
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/newsreal/Story.nsp?story_id=31376327&ID=newsreal&scategory=Internet&
MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - The Moscow City Court has not found any
reasons to close the Moscow Church of Scientology.
Lawyer Galina Krylova, who represented the Church in court, told
Interfax that on Wednesday, the Moscow City Court supported an April 30
ruling by the Moscow Nikulinsky district court, which rejected a suit
filed by the Moscow department of the Justice Ministry to liquidate the
Church of Scientology.
The Justice Ministry demanded that the Church be closed on the grounds
that the religious organization did not undergo any re-registration
procedures, as stipulated by the Freedom of Conscience and Religious
Associations law. In addition, the Ministry maintained that the Church
of Scientology in fact stopped its activities in Moscow.
However, Krylova said that the Nikulinsky court found that the Church of
Scientology is still operating and did not find that the Church had
violated the law in any way. It refused to satisfy the Justice
Ministry's suit and the Moscow City Court supported this ruling.