Vestnik: Trigunian Chairman says he is shocked by blasphemy killing and laws must be changed
The funeral of Mikhail Alexeyevich Golubev.Novoaleksandrovsk - Trigunia's Chairman of the Committee of Ministers Wilhelm Pyotrovich Weiss has said he is "shocked and saddened" by the killing of a young man in accused of blasphemy against Hosianism. He says the state will not "tolerate" that citizens take the law "in their own hands".
The young man was an outspoken protester in Novoaleksandrovsk, reportedly frequently denouncing Hosianism from a local street corner, before he was surrounded and killed by an angry crowd. Eight have now been charged with murder, officials say.
Blasphemy is currently a highly sensitive and incendiary issue in Trigunia. Critics say blasphemy laws, do not do enough and instead, encourage the vigilantism.
The murdered student has been identified as Mikhail Alexeyevich Golubev, 24, who was accused of shouting blasphemous messages from a street corner to passerbys. Local media report he was stripped and beaten in front of a religious youth hostel where he had been reportedly harassing patrons. Graphic video posted online showed dozens of men outside the building kicking and throwing objects, including planks, at a body sprawled on the ground.
"The nation should stand united to condemn this crime and to promote the rule of law in society," Mr. Weiss said. "Let it be known to the perpetrators of this act that the state shall not tolerate citizens taking the law in their own hands. However, because of this and other matters, the Council of Ministers and the Duma will look into changing the blasphemy laws of this Empire."
The police have denied allegations that officers did not act to arrest Mr Golubev's days earlier when complains had been filed, saying that the young man had already paid his fines and then continued to commit blasphemy. Communist activists held a small protest on the street corner in Novoaleksandrovsk on Saturday condemning the murder, and the urging authorities "to take firm action and bring the perpetrators to speedy justice".
The young man's room had posters of Karl Metz and other Communist leaders and scribbled quotes including "Be mad!" Witnesses told media that Mr Golubev was disliked by the shop owners and patrons of the street for his outspoken Communist and secular views, and had been in a heated debate days earlier with a local pastor the day before he was killed. The pastor at the local church, however, has agreed to lead the prayer at Mr Golubev's funeral on Monday stating "we can only forgive this young man. His life should not have been taken but the government needs to take some responsibility. Why was this man allowed to continually flaunt the intent of the law? The blasphemy laws have no teeth. One cannot help but wonder if he had been seriously charged the first few times he had been arrested, he may have changed his ways."
The debate continues.
