‘Harry Potter’ and the Russian occult probe

Prosecutors here have opened an investigation into whether the “Harry Potter” series of children’s books incites religious hatred, an official said.

The investigation was started at the request of a Moscow woman who was upset by the novels, said Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Moscow city prosecutor’s office.

Petrenko gave no further details on the complaint. The Interfax news agency reported that the woman who sought the investigation believes the second volume in the series -- known in the United States as “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” the film adaptation of which is currently playing in U.S. theaters -- contains occult propaganda.

Petrenko said an investigation is required under law when a request is filed. Once the investigation is completed, prosecutors will determine if any criminal charges will be filed, she said.

The Potter books have drawn some complaints in the United States from parents who feel they promote wizardry as a religion.

The Rosman publishing house, which has the license for Harry Potter books in Russia, said it is “baffled” by the investigation. Tatyana Uspenskaya, marketing director, noted the similar complaints in other countries and said law enforcement officials hadn’t become involved elsewhere, Interfax reported.

She said the publishers hadn’t yet been contacted by prosecutors because no criminal charges had been filed.

The books by J.K. Rowling are popular in Russia and have inspired a highly similar local version with a hero named Tanya Grotter, prompting Rowling’s publishers to threaten a lawsuit for plagiarism.