DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - NEW YORK: SHARI'AH LAW IS BEING ENFORCED BY AUTHORITIES THAT ARE SWORN TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Koran abuse draws hate-crime charge
By Audrey Hudson

A former Pace University student faces hate-crime charges for taking paperback copies of the Koran from the campus library on two occasions last fall and disposing of the Muslim holy book in toilets.

Stanislav Shmulevich, a Ukrainian immigrant, was arraigned Sunday in New York Criminal Court on two charges of criminal mischief in the fourth degree as a hate crime.

"The defendant, as a hate crime, intentionally damaged property of another while having no right to do so nor any reasonable grounds to believe that he had such a right," said the complaint filed by the New York County District Attorney's Office.

University officials filed a vandalism complaint with police after the first incident on Oct. 12, when "a copy of the Koran was found in a public toilet" at the Manhattan campus that "was covered in feces." A second copy of the Koran was found in a toilet Nov. 21.

When questioned by police, Mr. Shmulevich, 23, "admitted to committing said acts" and "that he committed the acts out of anger toward a group of Muslim students with whom he had had a recent disagreement," the criminal complaint said.

"We reported it initially as an act of vandalism, then the police hate-crime unit came over and decided to pursue it as a hate crime," said Chris Corey, Pace University spokesman, adding that he was "not at liberty" to discuss the investigation or how Mr. Shmulevich was implicated.

Mr. Shmulevich was arrested Friday after police found a surveillance photograph of him leaving the reading room where the books are kept, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

He was released from jail after a Sunday arraignment in New York City Criminal Court. Mr. Shmulevich has no criminal record, and works for a European banking firm. Straley M. Thorpe, Mr. Shmulevich's attorney, declined to discuss the specifics of the case, but said the law his client is charged with violating was challenged in past lawsuits on constitutional grounds.

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