ST. PETERSBURG. Aug 14 (Interfax) - St. Petersburg's Primorsky District Court has banned the Siege anthology of essays by U.S. citizen James Mason from distribution in Russia, the joint press service of the city's courts said on Monday.
"The court recognized the text of the book published on September 5, 2017 in electronic format on 527 pages (3rd edition) authored by James Mason as extremist material banned for distribution in Russia," the statement said.
The court included 11 web addresses in a special register.
When handing down the ruling, the court took into account the fact that in October 2021, a criminal case was initiated for setting up an extremist group, which was linked to establishing a similar organization for plotting and carrying out terrorist attacks in Buryatia on grounds of political, ideological, racial, ethnic or religious hatred and enmity. In accordance with the interrogation records, the defendants are committed to the ultra-right ideology, which was shaped, among other things, under the influence of the activities of the U.S. neo-Nazi terrorist organization and the Siege book. The investigators said they were plotting crimes against homeless people, people with alcohol and drug addictions, and non-Slavic nationalities.
The book's examination showed that it contained signs of calls for extremist activity or justifying its necessity.
During the court proceedings, law enforcement officers examined the materials on 11 web addresses with web pages dedicated to the Siege book and links to download it. They were found to have been administered from the territory of Germany, the United States, Panama, and Ukraine.