In a rare
application of anti-extremism legislation, a district court in Kirov,
Russia ordered the closure of a far-right web site, according to a
January 27, 2010 article in the Nizhny Novgorod edition of the national
daily "Kommersant." The Leninsky District court handed down its verdict
in approval of the local prosecutor's office, which moved to close the
web site of the local branch of the Movement Against Illegal
Immigration (DPNI)--Russia's largest far-right group.
The
prosecutor's office sent its motion to the court after reviewing a
video clip on the organization's site entitled "Day of the Migrant."
The prosecutor argued that this video clip called for "violent action
against ethnic and social groups--Vietnamese, Armenians, Azeris,
Gypsies, and homeless people." The prosecutor also asked that the clip
be placed on the federal list of banned extremist publications.
The
Moscow leadership of the DPNI reacted by characterizing itself as an
"opposition movement" being unfairly targeted by "corrupt" officials.
The DPNI has in the past been linked with anti-migrant riots and other
acts of violence, but unlike most neo-Nazi groups, it is operates
legally and often participates in officially approved marches and
demonstrations, implying a certain level of official approval and
respectability.