Russian court bans Doomsday cult books

6 May, 2008 08:33 / Updated 17 years ago

Religious writings by doomsday cult leader Pyotr Kuzntsov have been declared illegal by a court in Russia's Penza Region. The books were found to carry extremist ideas aimed at inciting hatred towards other religions and nationalities.

Kuznetsov has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital after an apparent suicide attempt in April. Last November, 35 of his followers, including several children, locked themselves in an underground bunker in the Penza Region to wait for the end of the world, which never happened.  24 of them left the hide-out at the end of March after it partially started to collapse. But 9 remain underground, threatening to kill themselves if anyone attempts to interfere. Two of the believers are reported to have died in the Bunker but their bodies have not yet been recovered.