‘Russia joins communist China as the only other country where a judge has incarcerated a citizen simply for meditating.
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A Moscow court on May 4 ordered the two-month detention of a Russian Falun Gong practitioner based on her beliefs, pending an investigation. It’s the first such action in Russia as the nation increasingly leans toward communist China.
Natalya Minenkova, 46, will be detained until June 27 under a controversial law against “carrying out the activities of an undesirable organization,” the Tushinsky District Court of Moscow ruled. The list of “undesirable organizations” includes independent media outlets, journalism groups, and U.S. think tanks.
In the brief synopsis of the case released by Russian police, Ms. Minenkova was accused of illegally organizing the activities of The Center for Spiritual and Physical Improvement Falun Dafa. The center is not one of the organizations listed by the Russian Ministry of Justice.
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The hearing came after police raided the homes of five practitioners of the meditation discipline, which has been facing brutal persecution in China since 1999. Ms. Minenkova was one of four people detained. One man was released. Police questioned Ms. Minenkova and two others but held Ms. Minenkova overnight until her court appearance on May 4.
“By ordering the detention of Ms. Minenkova, Russia joins communist China as the only other country where a judge has incarcerated a citizen simply for meditating and aspiring to live by Falun Gong’s teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, told The Epoch Times. “This shameful act further erodes freedoms in Russia and demonstrates Russia’s growing, and disconcerting, ties to China’s communist regime.”
In China, an estimated 70 million to 100 million people practiced Falun Gong and credited it with uplifting their mental and physical health. The Chinese regime saw such popularity as a threat and began a campaign to systematically eradicate the faith, fueling abuses such as slave labor and forced organ harvesting.
The hearing came after police raided the homes of five practitioners of the meditation discipline, which has been facing brutal persecution in China since 1999. Ms. Minenkova was one of four people detained. One man was released. Police questioned Ms. Minenkova and two others but held Ms. Minenkova overnight until her court appearance on May 4.
“By ordering the detention of Ms. Minenkova, Russia joins communist China as the only other country where a judge has incarcerated a citizen simply for meditating and aspiring to live by Falun Gong’s teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center, told The Epoch Times. “This shameful act further erodes freedoms in Russia and demonstrates Russia’s growing, and disconcerting, ties to China’s communist regime.”
In China, an estimated 70 million to 100 million people practiced Falun Gong and credited it with uplifting their mental and physical health. The Chinese regime saw such popularity as a threat and began a campaign to systematically eradicate the faith, fueling abuses such as slave labor and forced organ harvesting.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) also voiced concerns about the trend.
“It’s no secret that one of the CCP’s primary exports is oppression, and that’s very concerning,” he told The Epoch Times.
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