A criminal case involving the desecration of an Orthodox cross is pre-emptively closed in Tatarstan
March 15, 2017 – A local city council member closes a criminal investigation involving the demolition of an Orthodox Cross in Tatarstan, Russia. He claimed “a lack of criminal base”.
It became known that on March 13, 2017 that the case was preemptively closed as far back as January 23, 2017. It involved an Orthodox Cross in the village of Tashkirmen.
The vandalism was attributed to the Director of the local fish factory and city council member, Peter Kuznetsov, who admitted that he cut the cross down because he didn’t find it “aesthetically pleasing”, and that it was installed without his agreement.
In January, the city council of the village chose to close the case, citing a supposed lack of criminal content.
The parish of the church intends to reinstall the cross. The local authorities have attributed a land parcel for this purpose, but further information on construction timelines is not currently available.
Sources
http://www.sova-center.ru/religion/news/extremism/counter-extremism/2017/03/d36582/