The Case of Votyakov and Stefanidin in Izhevsk

Security forces are searching the house of Yevgeniy Stefanidin.

Senior investigator of the first department of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Udmurt Republic, Senior Lieutenant of Justice Artyom Kholmogorov initiates a criminal case against Alexander Votyakov and Yevgeniy Stefanidin under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of activities of a banned organization).

Early in the morning, law enforcement officers conduct searches in the houses of Alexander Votyakov and Yevgeniy Stefanidin, after which the men are taken away for interrogation.

Investigator Artyom Kholmogorov prosecutes men as defendants under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, the believers "agreed in advance on the joint commission of a crime," which consists in conversations on biblical topics with local residents, joint reading of the Bible and communication of fellow believers about spiritual things. The investigator alleges that at peaceful religious meetings propaganda activities were conducted, "with calls and inducements to actions of an extremist nature aimed at inciting religious discord, attracting new members, propaganda and superiority of religion by humiliating other religions, destruction of the family, marriage and kinship ties ... to encourage refusal to participate in the activities of state structures and bodies, refusal to participate in elections, refusal to venerate state symbols."

After interrogation and indictment, Aleksandr Votyakov is sent to a temporary detention facility, and Yevgeniy Stefanidin is ordered not to leave the place.

The judge of the Industrial District Court of Izhevsk, O. I. Strizhova, elects a measure of restraint for Alexander Votyakov in the form of house arrest until February 13, 2023. Now a believer does not have the right to leave the apartment, use means of communication, the Internet, send and receive letters, as well as communicate with witnesses in a criminal case.

The prosecutor reads out the case materials.

The case of Votyakov and Stefanidin is submitted to the Pervomaisky District Court of the city of Izhevsk and appointed to Judge Oksana Nazarova.

Alexander Votyakov's preventive measure is changed to a written undertaking not to leave the place.

The hearings in the case of Votyakov and Stefanidin begin. The defendants apply for the refusal of lawyers due to the fact that they want to carry out their defense themselves. The court leaves public defenders.

The prosecutor announces the charges, the believers do not admit guilt.

The court watches the video of the worship service.

Four listeners come to the hearing to support the believers — the court allowed so many to attend the trial.

The questioning of prosecution witnesses begins. One of them is an elderly woman. The prosecutor asks her if the witness knows that the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses are banned in Russia. The lawyer objected: "The activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia are not prohibited, this religion can be practiced." The court removes the prosecutor's question.

The witness characterizes the defendants as decent people, excellent family men. She has never heard from them calls to undermine the foundations of the constitutional order and refuse medical intervention - such accusations are voiced by the prosecutor's office.

At the request of the prosecutor, the written testimony of the witness in connection with the contradictions found shall be read. The woman explains that the investigators put pressure on her during the interrogation and did not write down in the protocol what she said. Asks to consider the testimony given in court correct.

Yevgeny Stefanidin's wife is being interrogated. She claims that the accusations against her husband are unfounded. The woman says: "My husband is a valuable employee at work. He has a good relationship with everyone. We have a very friendly family, my daughter is constantly worried about how her dad is. I can say the same about Sasha Votyakov. I know his family, his wife, his children. He is an excellent employee, law-abiding, and pays taxes conscientiously." The witness draws the court's attention to the fact that Yevgeniy is registered with an oncologist.

The testimony is given by the son of Alexander Votyakov. He does not share the religious views of his parents, but describes the relationship with them as good. He visits them regularly. The witness never heard the defendants motivate them to break family ties, renounce their civic duties, or make statements about the exclusivity of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The prosecution reads out the testimony of Votyakov Jr., given during interrogation by the investigator. The witness refuses them, arguing that during the interrogation he was threatened with beating. The defense states: "Any testimony given under threat is inadmissible."

The questioning of two additional prosecution witnesses is ongoing. They did not hear from the defendants statements indicating the exclusivity or superiority of Jehovah's Witnesses over other religions.

One witness shares that studying Bible norms and principles helped her stop smoking and abusing alcohol.

At the request of the prosecutor, the records of the interrogations of witnesses are read out, as they differ from the testimony given in court. Both witnesses state that during the interrogations they were subjected to psychological pressure from the investigation.

The judge does not allow Aleksandr Votyakov to use the car that is under arrest, despite the fact that the defendant needs to make frequent trips to work and transport tools.

Two witnesses for the prosecution, elderly women, are being questioned. One of them is familiar with the Votyakovs in a neighborly way. She explains that she has not heard from the defendants statements about the superiority of the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses over the creeds of other religions, as well as calls for disobedience to the authorities, negative attitudes towards representatives of other religions or the destruction of family ties.

Yevgeny Stefanidin's father is being interrogated. He characterizes his son on the positive side, says that Eugene has no bad habits and he has a strong family. He can't say anything about Votyakov, since he sees him for the first time.

Four witnesses for the prosecution testify, including Stefanidin's mother and Votyakov's son. All of them characterize the defendants positively: conscientious, honest people, do not have bad habits and are ready to help.

A written description of Yevgeny Stefanidin, provided by his sister, is also announced. She describes her brother as a responsible citizen and father. He describes his relationship with his brother as trusting.

Another witness is being interrogated. He says he was interested in studying the Bible, so he attended several worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses. He cannot characterize the defendants, since he saw them only once or twice, and Alexandra only via video link.

The court announces the interrogation of a secret witness Perevozchikov. The defense asks to declassify the witness, since there are no grounds for concealing his identity, nothing threatens his life and health.

Judge Oksana Nazarova refuses to declassify and begins interrogation, but due to technical problems, the witness is not heard. The interrogation shall be adjourned to the next hearing.

A secret witness is being interrogated. He reports that he attended worship meetings both before 2017 and after.

The lawyers again ask the court to declassify the witness, stating that he does not answer questions in his own words, but reads his testimony. The court refuses.

When asked what interested the secret witness in the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, he reports that he "came there to expose the organization." He also notes that he did it because of a "loved one." When asked by the prosecutor to describe the defendants, he replies that he cannot say anything bad about them. The witness also says that he has never seen the statutes of Jehovah's Witnesses' legal entities, and also confirms that in order to be a believer, you do not need to be a member of any legal entity or register on the site.

Pavel Kosarev, an employee of the FSB of Russia, is being interrogated. He describes the structure of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses, the functions and structure of the activities of believers. The FSB received all the necessary explanations from a secret witness who "turned to the department himself in 2022" and brought CDs with recorded liturgical meetings.

When asked by the defendants to the prosecution witness about the threat to the security of the state posed by the activities of believers, the operative replies that the Witnesses, as an international organization of Jehovah, receive religious literature and guidance from outside. He also says that believers "do not revere state symbols, refuse to serve in the army, do not observe public holidays." Kosarev believes that the study of religious materials, the study of the Bible, prayers — "all this is part of the structure of the [liturgical] meeting," and therefore is extremist activity.

The materials of the criminal case from the 1st, 2nd and 5th volumes are studied.

The court, at the request of the defense, attaches the response of the tax service of Udmurtia, from which it follows that Votyakov and Stefanidin were neither the founders nor the leaders of the legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Izhevsk.

The court rejects the petition to exclude from the case the testimony of the secret witness I. D. Perevozchikov. Believers were also denied access to a number of legal acts, including the ECHR ruling in favor of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, as well as documents of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for 2019 and 2020 concerning Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation.

About 25 people come to support the believers, they are not allowed inside, so they wait outside.

The questioning of defense witnesses begins. The chairman of the Union of Orthodox Women of Udmurtia, says that he has known Alexander Votyakov since 2008, he has repeatedly carried out construction work on her order. The witness characterizes the defendant as a calm and responsible person who performs his work efficiently, they have never had conflicts. According to her, Votyakov respected representatives of other religions, did not call for the severance of family ties, refusal of medical intervention or disobedience to state power.

The brother of Alexander Votyakov characterizes him positively. According to him, he is a good family man, has no bad habits, he has never heard calls for any illegal actions from the defendant.

The court is questioning four defense witnesses: three relatives and a friend of Yevgeny Stefanidin. All of them characterize the defendant as an honest, open and friendly person. One of them notes that Eugene is a good family man: "I know that my daughter loves him very much, she is always waiting for him when dad comes home from work. He is not just a father to her, he is a friend to her, because they spend a lot of time together.

According to witnesses, the believer shows deep respect for all people, regardless of their religious views and social status. None of the interrogated heard that Stefanidin called for disobedience to state power or undermining the foundations of the constitutional order.

When asked if they heard the defendant call for no medical intervention, the witnesses reply: "No. Zhenya takes his health seriously. He is now being treated for cancer."

Alexander Votyakov testifies: "I have never had extremist positions and views, because this is incompatible with the very concept of Christianity ... All the characteristics and testimonies of the witnesses interrogated in the case file speak of my peaceful and conflict-free way of life."

He adds that in the videos from the case materials, people "communicated peacefully, were interested in the news, everyone was happy to see each other, as is usually the case with friends."

At the end of his speech, he concludes: "I consider the criminal prosecution illegal. This is an unsubstantiated attempt to forbid me to believe in God and practice my unforbidden religion."

Yevgeny Stefanidin reads out his testimony.

In his opinion, "it is unacceptable to replace the religious structure with a legal one, which was done by the investigating authorities."

The believer continues: "The materials of the criminal case and the evidence presented by the prosecution boil down to the fact that I was a believer, attended divine services with fellow believers, and discussed with them, among other things, everyday issues."

"The indictment does not cite any specific speech passages that indicate extremism on my part," he says, adding: "It is unacceptable for me to propagate any extremist ideas or incite enmity and hatred."

20 people come to support the believers. The defense concludes the presentation of evidence.

The public prosecutor is being replaced. The court finishes reviewing the discs with the recording of the services.

A prosecution witness, investigator Artur Selin, is being questioned. He says that during the investigation of the criminal case, believers were always polite and punctual.

The lawyer files a motion to return the case to the prosecutor. He points out that the decision to bring Votyakov and Stefanidin as defendants and the indictment do not specify the motives for committing illegal actions directly. This violates their right to a defence.

The prosecutor considers that the arguments of the lawyer are not essential circumstances. The court dismisses the petition.

Votyakov gives explanations on the video recordings of liturgical meetings reviewed by the court. He reports that he participated in them out of love for God, and also notes that these were not meetings of the LRO.

Stefanidin asks to attach to the case file copies of medical documents on his state of health, including a certificate of social examination that he is a disabled person of group II.

The prosecutor asks for imprisonment: for Aleksandr Votyakov — 6.5 years, for Yevgeny Stefanidin — 6 years, for both - with subsequent restriction of liberty 1.5 years.

The defendants make their last word, emphasizing their disagreement with the charges.