Chechen court bans New Year's Eve celebrations, Christmas trees

The supreme Islamic court in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya on Friday published an order banning New Year's Eve celebrations and Christmas trees, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

The court's resolution, which was originally announced on 11th December, prohibited the celebration of New Year's Eve throughout Chechnya and the placing of Christmas trees in schools, homes, public squares, and other places.

Members of the public found contravening this order will be punished, while government officials will be sacked, the agency said.

It said guards overseeing Islamic laws would be patrolling to make sure the order was being observed.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.