Russia Shielded in Court Fight Over Stolen Religious Texts (1)

A Washington federal appeals court has shielded the Russian government from $175 million in sanctions stemming from long-running litigation by a Hasidic organization over stolen religious texts.

The three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found Tuesday that the Russian Federation is immune from civil suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and that the lower court judge who ordered the penalties never had authority to do so.

The decision thwarts a bid by Agudas Chasidei Chabad, a New York-based Hasidic Jewish organization, to recoup penalties against an American subsidiary of a Russian company over ...