JTA - 12.23.2004

Russian court annuls sentence 

(JTA) -- A Russian court annulled the sentence handed down last month in the case of a publisher known for printing anti-Semitic articles. 

Thursday’s decision by the Moscow City Court paves the way for a new court case against Viktor Korchagin, who gained notoriety for his anti-Semitic publishing activities, including publication of a Russian edition of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf.” Jewish and human rights activists welcomed this week’s development in the case, which has lasted several years. Alexander Brod, director of the Moscow Bureau on Human Rights, said he hoped justice would be done. On Nov. 24, a Moscow court found Korchagin guilty of publishing hate materials and gave him a one-year suspended sentence, which was immediately annulled because of the statute of limitations. That triggered outrage among Jewish leaders and human-rights observers.