Drop Charges against Russian Art Curators

In Moscow, Yury Samodurov, a human rights activist, and Andrey Erofeev, a museum curator, are facing criminal prosecution for organizing an exhibition entitled "Forbidden Art 2006" at the Andrei Sakharov Museum.

In June 2007, an ultranationalist religious organization, Narodnyj Sobor, submitted a formal complaint about the exhibition to the public prosecutor's office, which brought charges against Samodurov and Erofeev for inciting religious and ethnic hatred under article 282 of the Penal Code.

The two men could be sentenced to up to five years imprisonment. The Tagansky District Court in Moscow is scheduled to resume hearing the case behind closed doors on June 5, 2009.

To sign the petition calling for their freedom go to http://action.humanrightsfirst.org/campaign/Art