Russia: Appeal planned against Gita verdict

Prosecutors in Russia are planning to file an appeal against a verdict that rejected their call to ban a translated version of the Bhagavad Gita last month, the holy book of the Hindu religion, which they describe as "extremist literature".

A Siberian court on Dec 28 had rejected a plea in banning the Hindu religious book Bhagavad Gita in Russia.

Describing Bhagavad Gita as extremist, a group linked to the Christian Orthodox Church demanded ban due to conflict of interests between the Russian followers of Lord Krishna and the local authorities in the Siberian region of Tomsk.

The case had was heard in the Tomsk court since June and demanded for the ban on a Russian translation of the "Bhagavad Gita As It Is", written by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Replying a to a journalists' question at a news conference, Sadhu Priya Das, of ISKCON, Moscow, said that complainant prosecutors have sought more time from the Tomsk court for filing an appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

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