(JTA) — A Russian court dismissed incitement charges against a college professor who perpetuated the canard that Jews ritually murder Christian children.
The court in Tyumen dropped the charges after Svetlana Shestakova did not appear in court, citing illness, the Slavic Law and Justice Center reported on July 9, according to the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union. The statute of limitations then reportedly was allowed to lapse.
Shestakova gave a series of lectures to future public school teachers in 2008 at Tyumen State Oil-gas University on the topic of "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture," during which she reportedly made the blood libel claim that Jews ritually murder Christian children and use their blood to bake matzah for Passover.
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