Divorce Divorce Divorce

An Indian Muslim male can legally have four wives at the same time. Not only that, he may divorce any of them at any time by simply saying “talaq talaq talaq”. Some Muslim women in India have experienced instant dissolution of their marriage via a letter, Facebook, twitter, SMS or WhatsApp. Last year, Shayara Bano received a letter from her husband notifying her she was a divorcee. She filed a petition in India’s Supreme Court challenging the Muslim Personal Law. This week, a five judge bench concluded listening to both the sides. However, the court has “reserved” its verdict, meaning it hesitates to rule on religious matters. Since the court won’t, I offer here my views and verdict.

Shah Bano and Shayara Bano

In 1978, Shah Bano, a 62 year old Muslim lady, was dumped by her husband. They had been married for 46 years, and had five children. Her husband, an affluent lawyer, had another wife, a much younger woman. He refused to pay Shah Bano any maintenance beyond 90 days. That’s what the Muslim Personal Law requires. (It must be noted that the five children were thrown out of the house along with their mother after the divorce). Shah Bano courageously fought in the courts. The Supreme Court’s verdict, given seven years after the divorce, was in her favour. Her ex-husband was directed to pay Rs 179.20 (15 dollars then) a month to Shah Bano. The Ulemas (custodians of Islamic law) were incensed. How dare the Supreme Court interfere with their Personal Law? They appealed to Rajiv Gandhi, India’s then prime minister. Rajiv had a record majority in parliament based on the sympathy vote generated by his mother’s assassination. Using that majority, Rajiv Gandhi passed a new law sardonically named Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, and overturned the court’s decision. Sharia won, Shah Bano lost. Politics won, core moral values and decency were debauched.     

Thirty years later, Shayara Bano was similarly discarded by her husband. She had been married for 13 years. Her petition pleads the court to abolish (a) Polygamy (b) Triple talaq and (c) Nikah Halala.

Polygamy

In Prophet Muhammad’s time, the world in general and Muslims in particular were perennially engaged in wars. Constant wars increased the male mortality rate, leaving thousands of young widows. This was the logic behind allowing Muslim men to take multiple wives. (Muhammad himself had 13 wives).

In India, female foeticide, better treatment of sons over daughters and absence of any major war have resulted into a skewed male-female ratio. (940 f/1000 m). If multiple spouses must be allowed, polyandry – a woman marrying many husbands- is the mathematical need of the time.

For Hindus, polygamy was abolished in 1955. One may still occasionally find bigamist Hindus (or Christians). If wives are happy to share a husband, an outsider can’t launch a case against a bigamist. Only one of the wives can. An aggrieved Hindu wife can go to the court, get an illegal second marriage annulled, and the husband punished. An Indian Muslim wife doesn’t have that choice. Her husband doesn’t require her consent when marrying the second, third or fourth time.  

Triple talaq

Triple talaq was not intended to be instant noodles, but a cunning patriarchal community twisted a 1400-year old text to suit its convenience.

The original concept of triple talaq involved a process of separation, negotiation, cooling down and a possible reconciliation. Many months were supposed to pass between the man uttering the first and third talaq. Only if both parties understood the marriage was irreconcilable, the man would utter ‘talaq’ the third time. The divorce was then irrevocable.

In today’s high-speed world, that process has been shortened to the minimum. The Muslim males and mullahs base Sharia rigidly on the Quran, but in a grand display of hypocrisy ignore that Facebook, Twitter, SMS and WhatsApp didn’t exist in the time of the Prophet.  

An ordinary employment contract requires a few months’ notice before an employee leaves or is asked to leave a company. It reduces the shock, allows tying up loose ends, parting with dignity. In triple talaq, a man can divorce, even evict his wife and children in a flash.

Nikah Halala

The third point in Shayara Bano’s petition refers to a bizarre Nikah (marriage) practice. As we saw above, once Talaq has been pronounced three times, the marriage is over, irreversibly finished. Now, if the husband regrets his decision or the couple wishes to start anew, India’s Muslim Personal Law doesn’t allow it- except under one condition. The divorced wife must marry another man, have sex with him, and then wait for that marriage to end in a divorce or husband’s death.  Only as a divorcee or widow of another man, she can come back to her former husband.

There have been cases of men asking friends to rape divorced wives to fulfil the Nikah Halala condition. Certain commercial websites offer Nikah Halala as a product.  Men offer to marry a wronged woman, sleep with her and then divorce her, all for a specified sum (not cheap).

Ancient British Laws

Religious partition happened during British rule. (Blame it on the British). To fuel the “divide and rule” political strategy, different civil laws were enacted for different religions. The Sharia-based Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 still governs the civil affairs of the Indian Muslims. Parsi Marriage and divorce act, 1936 exists and is applicable. India’s criminal code, the Indian Penal Code, was enacted in 1860. Though it’s not as ancient as the Quran, and has undergone several amendments, a major overhaul is needed.

Homosexuality is still a crime, at least on paper (Sec. 377). Any Indian man can be sent to prison for 5 years for having an affair with a married woman (unless it is with her husband’s express consent) (Sec. 497). Indian men, well-versed in the law, make sure their mistresses are unmarried. An Indian woman’s adultery is not a crime, irrespective of her or her lover’s marital status. Because as one Supreme Court judge (ancient in age and attitude) said: “only men can seduce, women can’t.”  

Civil Law vs Criminal Law

Though there may be some overlap, civil law and criminal law have a different purpose. Civil law tries to resolve disputes (family, property) and give justice/compensation to the affected party (e.g. alimony to wife, restoring grabbed property etc). Criminal law punishes the guilty, sometimes imprisons them. In cases such as a murder or rape, resolving disputes or compensating the victim is not the aim, punishing the offender is. Because of the element of punishment, guilt needs to be proven “beyond reasonable doubt”. In civil cases, the standards are not so strict. The judge can decide the case based on probability. We all remember how O.J.Simpson was pronounced not guilty in the criminal case, but was declared a murderer and fined in the civil case.

Fortunately, India has one criminal law for all. Indian Muslims can’t be flogged for their crimes. For more than forty years, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has been fighting to preserve Sharia for Indian Muslims. The courts are told not to interfere in the personal affairs of Muslims.

Is it not surprising AIMPLB doesn’t say a word about the Criminal Law that is common for all?

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB)

This is a private, self-appointed body made of Ulemas that claims to represent the 170 million Indian Muslims. In 1973, Indian govt had proposed a bill that would open the way for a uniform civil code. Feeling threatened, a select group of Ulemas and other Muslim leaders formed this board. Since then, they have successfully fought against all attempts to introduce one civil law for all Indians.

It is a national shame that this retrograde patriarchal bunch dictates the life of 85 million Muslim women in India. Look at some of the board’s thoughts officially presented in the latest affidavit filed in the Supreme Court.

AIMPLB says: “Polygamy is a social need and a blessing for women because an unlawful mistress is more harmful for social fabric than a lawful second wife. Polygamy ensures sexual purity and chastity and whenever polygamy has been banned, it emerges from history that illicit sex has raised its head.”

Justifying instant talaq it says: “Legal compulsions of time-consuming separation proceedings and expenses may deter him [the husband] from taking the legal course. In such instances, he may resort to illegal, criminal ways of murdering or burning her alive.”

AIMPLB admitted triple talaq is a sin, and a bad practice. However, an Indian Court has no right to ban it, because it’s a personal religious matter. Now the Muslim board has said it would “recommend” it can be excluded from a marriage contract, and that a man declaring triple talaq could be socially boycotted.

In theory, Indian Muslims can opt for a civil law and a secular appearance. A Muslim male can opt to be clean-shaven, not wear a skull cap; a Muslim woman can throw away her burqa. They can register and dissolve marriages in the govt courts if they wish to.

However, in practice, most Muslim women are little educated, oppressed by patriarchal indoctrination, given away in marriage very young, and financially dependent on males. This pitiable state accompanied by superstition is the source of the power of the Muslim Personal Law board. Using that power, the board makes sure Indian Muslims would remain backward in perpetuity.

Analysis: My view

Let’s keep aside all these points and look at some fundamental, universal truths.

First, a marriage contract is unique. Because it is the only contract between two parties that can produce many more parties. Children, brought to this world without their permission, are mostly helpless for a significant number of years. It is the parents’ moral duty to raise them. If parents divorce, children should be cared for to the best of parents’ ability anyway. Since society can’t trust the integrity of every parent, it must regulate the parents’ conduct through civil laws. Children, the most critical by-product of a marriage, must be protected by the civil laws. Divorce laws must ensure their continuous care.

Second, the law must be equitable between a man and a woman. Both in marriage and divorce, they must have equal rights. If a man can have four wives, a woman should be allowed to have four husbands as well. 

Third, the civil laws must acknowledge the gender difference. It’s the woman who carries the child in her womb, suffers delivery pains, breastfeeds the baby and teaches the child to speak (mother tongue). As a rule, a mother is the main parent in raising the child. It is maternal nature. This has nothing to do with religion or how advanced the society is. Any law regulating marriage or divorce must consider this additional burden women bear. In a family, a woman’s place is higher than a man’s.  

When you apply those three tests; child protection, equality and acknowledging a woman’s extra burdens; the Muslim Personal Law fails. In triple talaq, children are not protected, not even discussed. Polygamy, triple talaq and Nikah halala are not merely patriarchal. They demean women. Under Sharia, a woman’s testimony is worth half of that of a man. A marriage contract is between her male guardian and husband, she is just a product traded between two males. Sons are entitled to inherit twice the share of the daughters.

Uniform Civil Code

Each person comes out of a mother’s womb, breathes, toddles and then walks, eats and sleeps, unites with another to produce off-springs, becomes middle-aged, later old and dies. This is Nature’s law and it’s the same for absolutely everyone, a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu or any other.

When Nature has uniform laws for everyone, why should Man have different laws?

Indian constitution (1950), in its article 44, expects India to have a Uniform Civil Code. Due to its sensitivity, it was called a ‘directive principle of state policy’ rather than a law. The Muslim Personal Law Board has used that wording to deny its enforceability.

The five SC judges for the Triple Talaq case are from five different communities- a Sikh, Christian, Parsee, Hindu and a Muslim. (Strangely, for such an important issue on justice for women, all five judges are men. SC’s only lady judge, R.Banumathi, should have been included). A similar panel should be formed to write the Uniform Civil Code so that minorities don’t perceive it as a Hindu Civil Code.

Uniform Civil Code doesn’t regulate customs; it regulates rights and responsibilities. The wedding functions of Hindus or Muslims will remain exactly the same as today. Religious rituals will be unchanged, and one can believe or not believe in any god of his choice. Responsibilities towards your partner and children must be governed by civil laws that are equitable, morally sound and recognise a woman’s role in the family.

This issue is for the government to legislate on, not for courts. Successive governments have lacked the courage to take up this issue. Govt cowardice has forced women like Shayara Bano to rush to the Supreme Court. This case presents an opportunity for the Indian government to implement a Uniform Civil Code. It is not a religious or secular but a moral obligation.

Seventy years after independence, we can no longer blame the British for the continuing uncivil practices in India.

Ravi

Your Lunatic Lordship

At the time of writing this story, Indian police in three states are looking for the High Court Justice Chinnaswami Swaminathan Karnan (hereafter called “Karnan” to limit the wordcount). Karnan is bald, with a bristled grey moustache, white religious mark on his forehead, and is usually suited and booted except in his sleep.

Karnan has been a HC Judge for eight years, and what an electrifying period of eight years it has been. In 2011, he formally complained against a fellow judge for deliberately touching him by foot, because he is a Dalit, a lower caste person. The upper caste judges always discriminated against him. He would barge into other court rooms where fellow judges were conducting their cases - Karnan suspected other judges (upper caste) were given better cases. Angry at the injustice, he would start shouting and interfering. The upper caste judges smiled and tolerated it all. Complaining against Karnan could stamp you as anti-Dalit.

Sex defines marriage

Karnan’s judgements were innovative. In June 2013, he pronounced an important moral verdict. If a man and a woman, both adult and unmarried, have sex, their act of sexual gratification is a valid marriage under law. Exchanging rings or garlands, registering the marriage and following religious customs were for the satisfaction of society. Consummation constituted marriage. Some sections of media and public, essentially immoral people, protested against the judgement. Karnan then issued a “gag order”, (a Judge’s prerogative), silencing everyone.

In late 2014, twenty Madras (Chennai) HC judges wrote a letter to the Supreme Court. It talked about the anguish and agony suffered by all of them at the hands of this gentleman. Look, they are all discriminating against me, harassing me, said Karnan in response.

Boss is not a superior

In a few months, Karnan started Suo Motu proceedings against his own boss, Justice Sanjay Kaul, the Chief Justice of the Madras HC. (Suo Motu is another privilege of a judge, to begin a case at his own initiative, without a plaintiff or police). Karnan accused his boss of giving him dummy cases. Because of his caste. The SC ordered a stay on those proceedings. Infuriated at the interference, Karnan launched criminal proceedings against the two SC judges who had ordered the stay. Karnan’s order charged them under the SC/ST atrocities act. (An act to protect atrocities against lower castes).

Transfer and cc to all

The SC deliberated Karnan’s matter for months. Finally, on 12 February 2016, the Chief Justice of India ordered his transfer from Chennai to Calcutta. During British days, criminals and political convicts were transferred to the Andaman Islands. In independent India, unruly judges are transferred to the north-east of India.

All hell broke loose when Karnan saw his transfer order. How dare anyone transfer him without his prior consent? Three days later, Karnan issued a judicial order bringing a stay on the transfer. In his order, he said to the SC, “I am apt to constrain Your Lordship’s Order after invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India, by staying Your Lordship’s tentative recommendation Order dated 12.02.2016... I request Your Lordship not to interfere in my jurisdiction...” He also asked the SC to submit a written statement in two weeks’ time. Karnan sent a copy of his judicial order to the Prime Minister, President, Law Minister, leaders of all opposition parties and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (called “SC/ST Commission” hereafter). He always sent copies of his important orders to prominent politicians and the SC/ST commission. Karnan was perfectly entitled to it; no law prohibited sending copies of the order.

The SC, instead of sending a written explanation as demanded by Karnan’s order, made all his orders, suo motu or otherwise, null and void. Karnan knew they had done it because he belonged to a lower caste. Reluctantly, and after wild protests, he agreed to move to Calcutta. In the Calcutta HC, he became a full-fledged HC Judge again, capable of passing valid orders. The Madras HC – its judges, staff and secretaries – threw a grand party to celebrate Karnan’s departure for Calcutta.

Letter to the Prime Minister

On 23 Jan. 2017, Karnan wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of India. The letter listed 20 corrupt HC and SC judges. He asked the PM to arrange their interrogation by a central competent agency. For unknown reasons, the PM did nothing. Karnan didn’t issue any order against the Prime Minister; probably he wanted to give him some time.

The SC of India, on the other hand, reacted. It issued a contempt notice against Karnan, for degrading the judiciary and making allegations of corruption against SC Judges. In March, the top court issued a warrant against Karnan, barring him from practicing in the court.

This was outrageous. Instead of investigating the corruption among the judges, the whistleblower was about to be punished. This was unacceptable to Karnan. On 16 March, he issued an order asking the SC judges (issuers of the contempt notice) to pay Rs 14 crore (2 million dollars) for disturbing his mind and normal life. He ordered the Registrar General of the SC to deduct the amount from the salaries of each of the accused.

Two weeks later, the SC wondered, for the first time, if there was something wrong with Karnan’s mental health. By now, Karnan, unable to work from the court, was working from his residence in Calcutta. He issued an order summoning the SC judges to his residence for questioning his mental health.

On 1 May, the SC ordered that a medical team should examine Karnan for any mental illness. The following day, Karnan issued an order to the Air Control Authority of India asking it to prevent any of the SC Judges from travelling abroad, since otherwise they could spread the virus of caste discrimination globally.

On 4 May, the medical team sent by the SC visited Karnan at his Calcutta home (now also an HC office). Karnan offered them tea, talked as politely as he could, and despatched them off. By now India’s most recognised judge; TV channels were vying for his interviews. Karnan soundly argued that the SC erred in sendingthe order to him. If he was mentally ill, (which of course he was not) the order should be sent to his relatives and not him. In any case, mental illness has nothing to do with the soundness of a person’s mind, he added.

A deserving punishment

By now, Karnan had had enough of the unfair SC. He must give them a deserving punishment. This week, on Monday, Karnan sentenced J.S.Khehar, the Chief Justice of India and seven other SC judges to 5 years of Rigorous Imprisonment and a fine of Rs 100,000 each. They are charged under the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act. If the fine is not paid within a week, they will serve another six months of imprisonment.

Karnan directed Delhi’s Director General of Police to arrest the SC judges. (The poor man didn’t know Delhi, unlike other states, has a Commissioner of Police and not DGP, but that didn’t really matter.) As usual, he sent copies of his orders to the SC/ST Commission. 

Oddly enough, the SC judges, instead of surrendering themselves, pronounced a six-month jail for Karnan, and issued a non-bailable warrant. Karnan’s lawyer argued that next month he turns 62 and is obliged to retire. (Sixty-two is the retirement age for judges of all castes). That was a reasonable request. Why send an HC Judge to jail and spoil the reputation of the Indian judiciary, when a month’s wait can send him to retirement? The unreasonable SC disagreed.

For the last three days the police have been looking for Karnan in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. He is not found. His lawyer, though, has launched a case in the SC to bring a stay on the order sending Karnan to jail. Unless the SC wants to engage in discriminatory practices, it must consider Karnan’s appeal.

*****

Analysis

The inbreeding of Judges

Who appoints judges? In the USA, we recently saw Trump nominating Neil Gorsuch to the SC and the senate somehow confirming it. When politicians appoint judges, can the judges rule against those politicians or their parties? Judges are human, and unfortunately can suffer from the same biases as all of us do. Indian judges retire at 62, American SC judges don’t retire, they are in power until death. The American SC now has 5 conservative and 4 liberal judges. It is expected that borderline cases will, for the foreseeable future, get conservative verdicts by a 5:4 vote.

Judges can also be elected, as in the State Court Judges in 32 out of 50 states of the USA. Like politicians, those judges need campaign money, and it is too much to expect them to rule against the sponsors in court cases. 

In India, the judiciary has for long fought against any politician interfering in the selection process of the judges. India’s finance minister called this ‘the tyranny of the unelected’. In what is called the Collegium system, a judicial inbreeding system, judges select judges. After the Karnan saga, nobody clearly remembered how he was appointed. Karnan was appointed by three judges. Justice P.K.Mishra apologised for appointing him without knowing him. The Chief Justice of India then, justice Balkrishnan said: “Others propose the names, and we go by that. I didn’t make any specific enquiry about him.” Justice A.K. Ganguly who had proposed Karnan’s name said he didn’t remember, it was so long ago. He thought for social justice, a Dalit judge should be part of the HC Judiciary.

India has fewer than 600 High Court judges and only 31 Supreme Court judges. That is half a judge for every million. (Or one HC/SC judge per 2 million Indians). Absolutely no written record is kept of the appointment procedure. Three judges get together over tea and biscuits, discuss a candidate (like Karnan) and appoint him. With no checks and balances, the Indian judiciary is supremely powerful. (Indira Gandhi was convicted by a High Court judge for a minor misfeasance, causing the Emergency of 1975) And if you criticise the judiciary too strongly, you may attract contempt charges and go to jail.

Reservation

An affirmative action (USA) or positive discrimination (UK) is called “reservation” in India. It is essential to support historically oppressed sections of society. In India, schedules (lists) of such people are prepared. Castes and tribes falling into the lists are the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST). Many Indian institutions follow reservations by making entry easy for the SC/ST candidate, not exit. In other words, an SC/ST candidate may enter a medical institute with entry standards relaxed. However, he must study, compete with everyone and qualify to become a doctor just like everyone else. In critical areas of life, professionals must be selected on merit. A blind person is handicapped, and deserves sympathy, but he can’t be made a pilot to show positive discrimination. A High Court judge is a serious profession capable of affecting the lives of many people. He must be selected on merit, not on caste. Karnan is not the first or the last SC/ST judge in India. The others, though, were selected despite their caste, and not because of it.

The enigmatic language

Indian judiciary’s argument about keeping the appointments within a family is that the Indian politicians are not yet evolved (meaning they are backward). There is some merit in this argument, since an illiterate Indian can become a member of the Indian parliament (and many do), age and residence being the only qualifications. Judges, on the other hand, have a law degree as a minimum.

Reality, though, shows that the law degree is no evidence of quality education. The legal profession, just like politics, is not the first choice of the brightest Indian minds. Second, many of the judgements are so enigmatically written, one wonders which law colleges teach such creative writing. Look at the following judgement of a High Court:

“(The)...tenant in the demised premises stands aggrieved by the pronouncement made by the learned Executing Court upon his objections constituted therebefore...wherewithin the apposite unfoldments qua his resistance to the execution of the decree stood discountenanced by the learned Executing Court”.

Such abstract language is not exceptional, it’s widespread. The Supreme Court quashed the above verdict, not on any legal grounds, but by saying they didn’t understand what the HC judge wanted to say. (Compare this to a beautiful ruling written in plain English with Emoji, web symbols, so that children affected by the case can read it. http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/HCJ/2016/9.html . This ruling from last year was written by Mr Justice Peter Jackson from an English High Court.)

Karnan’s case makes it imperative to involve people from outside the judiciary in the selection process. Also, as in any corporation, the process must be transparent with records maintained in writing.

Why was Karnan not impeached?

In theory, an Indian judge can be impeached. But the process is so complicated that both the houses of Parliament will need to spend days, possibly months, trying to get the vote through.

In some countries, buffoons become judges. In some countries, buffoons become presidents. Until they can be removed after a long struggle, we simply need to sit back and enjoy the show.

Ravi 

Pokémon-go in the Church-on-Blood

Playing in the virtual world can sometimes have unimaginable consequences in the real world.  Ruslan Sokolovsky, a 22 year old resident of Yekaterinburg, Russia, will have to wait until the coming Thursday to find out what they are in his case.

Ruslan Sokolovsky

Ruslan lost his father at the age of 13. His mother is chronically unwell. Ruslan moved from one faculty to another before settling to study law. At a young age, he decided God didn’t exist, and that religious people are irrational, perhaps psychologically weak. Religious institutions are deplorable, hand-in-glove with the politicians. Ruslan calls himself an atheist, a cosmopolitan and a libertarian. He began recording his thoughts and posting them as a video-blog. He soon developed a fan-base of a few thousands. He was delighted to learn he could monetise his popularity. He badly needed money for his survival and his mother’s care.

Pokémon-Go

In July 2016, the world saw the release of a new virtual reality game, Pokémon-go. Without it, this story would not have happened.  Pokémon-Go, in case you don’t know, is a GPS based game, where you go to public places with your Smartphone trying to catch the Pokémon (Pocket Monsters). As children, we ran after butterflies. After escaping a few times, when the butterfly was finally caught, it was an achievement for us. Catching Pokémon is similar, though much more complicated. The game is hugely addictive. Last summer, you could see Pokemaniacs of different ages running across roads, in parks, on beaches, in public spaces.

In the same month, Ruslan watched a news item on “Rossiya-24”, a TV channel. It warned viewers not to try to catch Pokémon in Russian orthodox churches.

As an atheist-nihilist, Ruslan decided to rebel. He went to the city’s most famous church – Church on Blood. After the 1917 Russian revolution the Tsar, his entire family and entourage were shot, bayoneted, and clubbed to death in this place, hence the name. (The church was built after the collapse of the USSR). Ruslan went around the church with his Smartphone in hand, trying to catch Pokémon. He didn’t say a word, nobody really noticed him. These days a person walking without a Smartphone attracts more attention.

Ruslan then went home, and prepared a video-report of his church visit. His report concluded with a piece of satire. It said he didn’t catch any Pokémon; not even the rarest Pokémon, Jesus. To spice up the video, he added a prayer with maternal insults in the background. The digital generation loves what is profane more than what is profound.

 The video clip spread like wildfire (1.2 million views). A psychiatrist on one TV channel called Sokolovsky mentally ill. Another channel discussed how Pokémon-Go creates hallucinations. The Orthodox Church expressed its displeasure, said it would meet him along with the police to teach him how to respect religion. The Church wanted people to pray, not play, in the church.   

A little before that, a Synagogue in St Petersburg had organised a competition. People were invited to the synagogue to catch Pokémon. The person who caught the maximum was given a bottle of ‘Kosher wine’ as a reward. The synagogue spokeswoman declared the event to be great fun. 

Official reaction

A week after Ruslan’s video, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a statement saying the blogger’s video is being investigated by the police centre for combating extremism. Things began moving faster in September. Early morning on 2 September (the police prefer to raid houses when the occupants are sleeping), Ruslan’s apartment was raided. He was arrested and his video equipment confiscated. The judge remanded him to custody for two months. After his appeal, the detention was converted into house arrest.

Ruslan would have been under house arrest until the completion of his trial. However, his girlfriend came to his house to wish him on his birthday. As luck would have it, she bumped into an inspector. A house prisoner meeting anyone without official permission is a breach of regulations. Ruslan was sent back to the detention centre, where he would spend most of the winter. Russian winters can be long and miserable.

A month before his trial, in a form of relief, he was back under house arrest. The trial began on 13 March and would go on for nearly two months.

Ruslan was charged under three sections of Russia’s criminal law.

282: Inciting hatred or enmity and insulting human dignity.

148: Public actions expressing clear disrespect to society with the aim of insulting religious feelings of believers committed in places for religious worship. (This section was added in 2013, following the Pussy Riot case, where a group of young Russian women performed anti-Putin songs in a Moscow church).

138: Violation of the secrecy of conversations of individuals. (During the house raid, the police found a pen with a camera in it. This has been submitted in evidence as a ‘spy pen’).

The Trial

In a spirit of openness, the entire trial was transmitted live, filmed and posted on YouTube. Anyone who knows the Russian language can watch it, and pass his own judgement. The trial was full of a variety of characters.

Socio-psychic-psychiatric-religio-linguistic experts were called in by both sides. They discussed which words may or may not disrespect, hurt, insult. Does a maternal insult humiliate a person or offend him?

Ruslan’s advocate wrote to Patriarch Kirill (Russia’s Pope) asking whether he felt insulted. The Patriarch’s office replied this was a matter for the courts to decide.

The state witnesses said, yes, they were offended. They looked too elderly and too simple to have ever operated the internet. When Ruslan’s advocate probed deeper, a witness admitted she was invited by the police to watch Ruslan’s clip in an auditorium. She watched it and then felt deeply hurt and humiliated. A Muslim witness was added for good measure. He said he felt insulted as well, because Islam and Christianity have the same roots.

Ruslan’s advocate often asked the witnesses to show how they felt hurt. Show me where and how you were hurt, he asked, as if this was an automobile accident. No witness could answer him.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, had issued a statement calling Ruslan Sokolovsky a “prisoner of conscience” and asking the world community to write to Russian prosecutors demanding his immediate release.

The mayor of Yekaterinburg said people were not forced to watch clips on internet. If you don’t like someone or something, don’t watch it. He said Tolstoy and Pushkin had debated similar topics (religion), except they hadn’t used swear words.

The lady prosecutor demanded Ruslan be imprisoned for 3 ½ years.

In his final address, Ruslan refused to accept his guilt. He said he could be an idiot, but not an extremist. He has not disturbed anybody, or caused any violence. He is responsible for his ill mother. He appealed against a prison sentence. He knows what Russian prisons are like, imprisonment would destroy him.

The lady judge will give her verdict on Thursday, 11 May.

*****

Analysis

Salman Rushdie, Charlie Hebdo and Ruslan Sokolovsky

Salman Rushdie had to hide for eleven years after the publication of his Satanic Verses. I don’t think Khomeini ever read the book before issuing the fatwa. (Rushdie writes in a language of magic realism which is hard to understand for those who read Sidney Sheldon or Jeffrey Archer. However, Rushdie’s genius can be seen in Joseph Anton, his memoir written in plain and beautiful English. The basis for Joseph Anton is Rushdie’s period of living in fear for eleven years). With a different title, it’s possible the Muslim world would have ignored the book. If Rushdie knew what was going to happen, I doubt he would have written the book. Writers are revolutionaries in spirit, but they don’t wish to be killed in that revolution. Rushdie had ample freedom of speech in the country he was the citizen of, but his book hurt the feelings of a foreign theocrat.

In January, 2015 twelve people including sub-editors and eminent cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French newspaper were killed by two brothers carrying guns. Charlie Hebdo calls itself secular, anti-religious. It publishes cartoons and articles against Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other religions. The reason for the attack was its publishing of cartoons on Prophet Mohammad. Though attacked in 2011 and 2015, Charlie Hebdo continues to publish satire mocking religions, including Islam.

In Rushdie’s case, the punishment was announced by an extraterritorial religious head. In the case of Charlie Hebdo, two terrorists executed twelve people for the alleged insult.

Sokolovsky’s case, though he is accused of insulting religious feelings as well, is different. It is an official case Sokolovsky vs Russian Orthodox Church which will be decided by the secular Russian state.

Atheism to religion

An obvious irony is that Russia under communism was atheist. Public propagation of religion was a punishable crime. In Brest Border: my open diary in Jan. 2008, I wrote about the persecution and imprisonment of Hare Krishna devotees in the Soviet days. Back then, Amnesty called them the prisoners of conscience. Russians can now be charged for hurting the feelings of the religious people. There doesn’t seem to be any law against hurting the feelings of atheists.

Another curious thing is that Ruslan’s offensive video clips are still in the web. Russian churchgoers, please open the links, watch Sokolovsky, and get insulted and possibly humiliated. Material capable of spreading such hatred and enmity is still accessible to anyone eight months after Sokolovsky’s arrest. Is that not bizarre?  

Sokolovsky would be classified as a dissident, someone strongly opposing established doctrines and practices. The Internet is flooded with hate, swear words, blasphemy. Why Sokolovsky? Because his thinking reached a scale. More than one million people watched his clip. As soon as a provocative thinker or writer reaches large numbers, he becomes a dissident. A dissident’s success or fame can put him in danger.

Amnesty International and others who cry against such processes actually may be doing a disservice to the accused. Russia is a proud nation. It doesn’t want to be perceived as deciding Russian cases under the pressure of human rights or other organisations from the west.

That the trial was transmitted live and the video clips in question are still accessible is a welcome democratic step. The Russian state has run a risk of making Sokolovsky a hero (or a martyr). Though he has used foul language to please his target viewers, Sokolovsky comes across as a rational, articulate, well-read and strong-minded person. The Church offered to withdraw the case if he repented. Sokolovsky refused to accept his guilt or ask the church for forgiveness.

The Verdict

What is the judge supposed to do?

She can dismiss the case and release Sokolovsky. This is nearly impossible. Four investigators were appointed on the case. In a region where 30,000 cases of significant gravity remain pending, much effort has been invested in this case. Special prosecutors were appointed, witnesses for the prosecution invited. One simply can’t dismiss a case after all that. Moreover, dismissing the case would be a victory for Amnesty International and all those western critics. Russia must define its freedom of expression not by the standards of the west.

It would be good if Sokolovsky gets a suspended sentence. As a condition, he may be asked to stop sacrilegious video-blogging. Such a reprieve, though, will offend the Orthodox Church. Sokolovksy has refused to repent. In the absence of repentance, the Church will expect real punishment. Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state must help one another to keep their respective powers intact.

The most likely outcome is a two-year imprisonment and a fine. That way, future dissidents are deterred as well. Later, once Ruslan has tested enough of prison life, a presidential pardon can be issued. President Putin is likely to be re-elected in March 2018. He can then pardon Ruslan before the start of the 2018 FIFA world cup in Russia. That will stop Amnesty International lobbying for a World Cup boycott from the west.

Ravi 

Select webography

1.       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfMn1yahGYk The clip called “Pokemon go prank” with English subtitles. The main reason for the case. Warning: includes swear words.

2.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPC-KhPCv4 10-minute concluding speech of Sokolovsky (in Russian).

3.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEg0MCSr098 A religious witness explaining how she was insulted and humiliated. (In Russian) Fairly amusing to watch the exchange.

4.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmRtwopybU0 a variety of insulted witnesses. The priest confirms the clip insulted each and every orthodox Christian. (in Russian)

5.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yIHqhWogeo Almost a full length film. Interrogation of Sokolovsky. Gives us a good idea about the court process in Russia. (in Russian)

6.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QVGM7rGd8o Mayor of Yekaterinburg, a very articulate person,  says this case shouldn’t have come to the court in a secular state. (in Russian)

R.