The pastor of the Lutheran Church Petrikirche in St. Petersburg, Michael Schwarzkopf, faces an administrative fine and deportation from Russia, the joint press service of the St. Petersburg courts reported this on the Telegram channel.
“The Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg registered a case of administrative offense under Part 5 of Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation against Michael Schwarzkopf,” – says the message.
In a subsequent message, the press service clarified that the court had now returned the materials to the compilers to eliminate the deficiencies.
Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation regulates liability for violation by a foreign citizen or stateless person of the rules of entry into the Russian Federation, as well as the regime of stay in the country. Part five of the article deals with liability for such an offence, committed repeatedly during the year.
The sanctions under this article provide for punishment in the form of a fine of 7 to 10 thousand rubles with administrative expulsion from Russia.
Michael Schwarzkopf has been the pastor of the Petrikirche church since 2013, according to the official website of the church community. Since September 2014, he has been the Archbishop’s representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Russia, and Schwarzkopf is also the rector of the Lutheran communities in northwestern Russia: the Petrikirche community and the community of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg, communities in Novgrod, Arkhangelsk, Pechory and Ukhta.
