Russian legislation: Chechen court bans anti-Islam film

Court in Grozny rules film distribution could have negative consequences to political destabilisation in region.

MOSCOW: A court in Russia’s predominantly Muslim region of Chechnya has moved to ban the anti-Islamic film that stoked violent protests across the Muslim world, saying in a preliminary ruling it could destabilise the situation in an already volatile area, officials said Friday.

The US-produced “Innocence of Muslims,” led to massive demonstrations across the Muslim world although so far there have been no major demonstrations in Russia which is home to a large Muslim population. A court in the Chechen capital Grozny ruled that the distribution of the film could have “serious negative consequences connected to the political destabilisation in the entire region,” said a statement by the regional ministry for national policies, media and information. The court ruling called the film “socially dangerous and provocative,” said the ministry, citing its top official Murat Tagiyev. The Kremlin, which fought two wars against separatists in Chechnya, over the past 20 years, is struggling to contain a simmering insurgency in the region. According to Russian legislation, the ruling of a local court will have to be enforced across the entire country.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2012.