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Siberian Pensioner Accused of Founding Anti-Semitic Cell

An elderly resident of Minusinsk in the Krasnoyarsk region is accused of making appeals for public disorder, calling for violence against Jews and quoting passages from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," a news report said Monday.

According to investigators, the 65-year-old retired resident of Minusinsk created a public organization called "Minin and Pozharski People's Militia" in early 2011 without properly registering it, Interfax reported.

"From May 2011 until February 2012, the suspect held regular meetings of his organization at various apartments around town," a statement posted on the official website of the regional prosecutor said.

During the meetings, the pensioner made appeals for public disorder, advocated the use of violence against Jews and distributed excerpts from Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf," which is officially banned in Russia.

The suspect faces charges of making appeals for public disorder and inciting ethnic hatred, punishable by up to two years in prison for each charge.

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