Russian prosecutors said Thursday they would charge the director of a leading human rights center with inciting religious hatred for running a 2007 art exhibit that contained paintings portraying Jesus Christ as Mickey Mouse.
Yury Samodurov, director of the Sakharov Museum and Community Center, is to be charged on May 13, according to a copy of the notification he received from prosecutors earlier this week. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. The exact nature of the charges remain unclear.
"You must come ... to be charged and questioned on the criminal case of conducting the `Forbidden Art-2006' exhibit," the letter said. Its signatory, investigator Yevgeny Korobkov, confirmed its authenticity when reached by telephone Thursday but refused to discuss the matter further, saying he was not authorized to do so.
Samodurov, who has been convicted of similar charges before, said Thursday that authorities were "bent on imprisoning me."
"I am absolutely sure that is their aim," he said. "The principle of the exhibit was the new freedom of expression we thought we had."
The "Forbidden Art-2006" exhibit _ a collection of paintings and other visual works that had been banned at various exhibits across Russia that year _ angered Russian Orthodox Church leaders.
The works, which were hidden behind a black wall pierced with peep holes, included paintings of Jesus Christ with the head of Micky Mouse, fornicating soldiers and Lenin's image on a crucifix.
Samodurov said authorities had failed in an attempt to close the Moscow museum when he was convicted and fined for a 2003 exhibit titled "Caution: Religion!" He said he feared this time they would succeed.
That exhibit featured images of Christ next to a Coca-Cola logo with the slogan: "Coca-Cola. This is my blood," among other works. Samodurov received a US$3,600 fine for allowing the exhibit, thereby inciting religious hatred, prosecutors said.
Human rights activists have cited Samodurov's case as an example of diminishing freedom of expression in Russia and the clout wielded by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Andrei Sakharov was a famous Soviet-era dissident, politically active in the 1960s, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. His widow, Yelena Bonner, is a prominent human rights activist. The museum was founded in his honor to promote democracy and human rights.
