Soviet Christian jailed for passing religious material

A member of a Christian fundamentalist sect was arrested in the south Russian city of Rostov and charged with disseminating religious propaganda, dissidents said. They said Pyotr Golikov had been persecuted by the KGB security police since applying to emigrate in 1977. Authorities confiscated Bibles and other religious literature during a series of raids on his home, they said. The offense carries a maximum jail sentence of five years.