GORNO-ALTAISK, September 3 - RAPSI. A newspaper editor and Altai religious community member will be brought up on charges of propagating Altai religious promotional materials in the media and inciting enmity and hatred towards those who follow Buddhism.

Investigators allege that Altai resident Valery Chekonov, 45, a member of the unregistered religious community, Karakol Initiative Group, and editor of the newspaper, Amadu Altai, consistently and publicly promoted his personal religious views. This promotion in the media, according to investigators, included language that promoted enmity and hatred toward those practicing Buddhism.

"Between 2010 and 2012 Chekonov published several articles lauding the Altai religion and rejecting Buddhism and its followers in the republic," reads the report.

A criminal case was initiated on charges of "inciting enmity and hatred based on religious beliefs." A conviction carries a sentence of up to two years in prison.