The Justice Ministry has canceled the registration certificate of one of Russia's biggest non-traditional religious organizations, Aum Sinrike, effectively banning it from any further public activity.


The order came after an investigation found that eight out of 11 signatures of those listed as founding members were invalid, said Alexander Kalinkin, an investigator in charge of the case.


The investigation into Aum Sinrike and some 10 other similar organizations began in April as a response to a mass of letters from people whose family members had left their homes and social life to join the sects, Kalinkin said.


"The registration permit issued to Aum Sinrike in July 1992 was retracted this month after the forgery of founding documents had been proved," said Semyon Galustyan of the Justice Ministry's public organizations' registration department.


For Aum Sinrike, which claims to have over 30,000 devotees in Moscow alone, this means losing its juridical status and the right to conduct official public meetings, publishing or media activity as well as to own any property or bank accounts, Galustyan said.


"We have not banned the group," he added. "They can still gather in their apartments and pray as much as they like."


The prosecutor's office investigation was conducted by a group of doctors, lawyers and psychiatrists which concluded that Aum Sinrike's activities led to "noticeable changes in devotees' behavior, mental state and personality," Kalinkin said.


The group accused Aum Sinrike, the White Brotherhood and the Mother of God Center of practicing "psychotechnic" methods with the devotees, the report said.


To persuade newcomers to leave their homes and everyday occupations, the religious instructors use special initiation rituals and mediation sessions which can last up to 300 hours non-stop, Kalinkin said.


Methods used by Aum Sinrike -- or the Society of the Higher Truth, a Japanese-based religious movement founded by S. Asahara in the 1970s and officially registered in Japan only in 1989, "feature gloomy and mystical rituals," according to a report submitted to investigators by the Foreign Ministry.


The report was based on 56 letters from parents, a diary of an Aum SInrike sect member, medical records of several converts and interviews with 77 people. It found that college students and young people aged 16 to 35 were most susceptible to joining the sect.