Russian Court Upholds Religious Freedom Rights for Church.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 1999--

Attorneys with the Russian Center for Law and Justice, in cooperation with the American Center for Law and Justice, have succeeded in a court challenge aimed at closing down a Christian Pentecostal church in Russia.

"This is a major victory for religious freedom in Russia," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who is working with the Russian legal team. "This church was clearly the target of religious discrimination by the government. It is encouraging to see the courts stand up for the church and its members."

The case involves the Word of Live Church in Magadan, a city in the extreme eastern region of Russia. The Russian government attempted to liquidate the assets of the church, which is affiliated with the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Pentecostals, by alleging that the pastor engaged in hypnosis and brainwashing in his appeal for donations from parishioners to support the work of the church. Russian authorities harassed church members and confiscated church records. In January, most of the church's 500 members signed a declaration requesting political asylum in the United States.

After lengthy delays, the case was heard last week in the City Court of Magadan. And after a four-day hearing, the Court ruled May 21 in favor of the church -- saying it found the allegations brought against the church to have no legal basis. At the same time, the Court reprimanded the prosecutor in the case. The Court said the prosecutor violated the privacy rights of church members by illegally videotaping church services and attempting to forge court documents.

The prosecutor has until next week to decide whether to appeal the decision. If the decision stands, church members are expected to withdraw their request for political asylum.

Sekulow said: "This decision sends a powerful message to the government: those charged with protecting and enforcing the law are not above the law. Just because the Russian government doesn't like the way this church practices its Christianity, it cannot legally discriminate and harass church members. This is an important victory for people of faith in Russia."

Attorneys Anatoly Pchelintsev and Vladimir Ryakhovski represented the Word of Life church. Both attorneys, who work closely with the ACLJ, presented detailed evidence in the case including the testimony of more than 20 witnesses.

The Russian Center for Law and Justice was formed in 1998 by the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ), an international arm of the ACLJ. The ECLJ, which is headquartered in Strasbourg, France, is involved in international legal work on religious freedom and human rights.

The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.