The Case of Kuzhelkov and Prokhorov in Kirsanov

Deputy Head of the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Tambov Region, Colonel of Justice Mikhail Medyulyanov initiates a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against Anton Kuzhelkov. The investigation sees signs of extremism in "convening meetings, organizing religious speeches and worship ... carrying out preaching activities" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case).

The head of the interdistrict investigation department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Tambov Region, Colonel of Justice Askar Bupegaliev, on the basis of the report of the senior detective of the CPE of the Ministry of Internal Affairs V. Tsyplakov, initiates criminal case No. 12002680003000030 against Nikolai Prokhorov under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The cases against Prokhorov and Kuzhelkov are combined into one proceeding. The case is assigned a 12002680011000017 number. The investigation sees in peaceful worship "undermining the foundations of the constitutional order and ... incitement of religious discord."

Judge of the Leninsky District Court of Tambov Denis Lipatov, with the participation of Senior Assistant Prosecutor A. Sapelkin, in a closed session, satisfies the petition of investigator Mikhail Medyulyanov to search the actual address of Anton Kuzhelkov's residence in the Moscow Region. The investigator believes that at this address there are "instruments of crime, objects, documents and valuables that may be relevant to the criminal case."

In the morning, at least 19 searches of believers take place in Kirsanov. One of the searches takes place at Anton Kuzhelkov's home in the town of Lukhovitsy, Moscow Region. He was taken for interrogation 350 kilometers from his home - to the investigative department of the Investigative Committee in Tambov. After the interrogation, the investigator for especially important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee, Major of Justice Ivan Morozov, detains the believer.

The investigator for especially important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation P. Salnikov, in the presence of witnesses and a lawyer, seizes a mobile phone and a laptop with a charger from Nikolai Prokhorov. The seizure is carried out in the office at the address: Tambov, st. Karl Marx, 156. Photographs are taken during the seizure.

Judge of the Leninsky District Court of Tambov Denis Lipatov, the one who authorized the searches, sends Anton Kuzhelkov to the pre-trial detention center for 2 months, until February 20, 2021.

The lawyer visits Anton Kuzhelkov in the pre-trial detention center. The believer tries to maintain a positive attitude, not to give up and not to lose heart.

Mikhail Medyulyanov attracts Nikolai Prokhorov as a defendant in a criminal case.

Kuzhelkov received letters from 73 countries, and some of them began correspondence. The believer has a Bible. The cell became warmer.

Anton Kuzhelkov is being transferred from SIZO-1 in Tambov to SIZO No. 3 in Zeleny Gai, located in the Michurinsky District of the Tambov Region. The believer has been behind bars for 250 days. He can write letters.

The case against Anton Kuzhelkov and Nikolai Prokhorov is submitted to the Kirsanovsky District Court of the Tambov Region.

Judge Nikolai Glistin refuses to return the criminal case to the prosecutor, although, in the opinion of the defense, inadmissible evidence of the prosecution appears in the case, for example, the opinion of the expert Y. Aseeva (Aseeva, according to the defense, does not have a specialized education, and she is the founder of one of the local Islamic religious organizations; answering the questions posed by the investigator, Aseeva went beyond her competence).

The question of the further measure of restraint for Anton Kuzhelkov, who is in jail, is being raised. State prosecutor A.A. Kostik sees no reason to mitigate the measure of restraint. Judge Nikolai Glistin extends Kuzhelkov's detention for six months at once, until March 6, 2022. He also leaves the measure of restraint to Nikolai Prokhorov in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place.

The Kirsanovsky District Court of the Tambov Region is holding the first open court hearing in the criminal case against Anton Kuzhelkov and Nikolai Prokhorov.

Kuzhelkov's lawyer is requesting that he and his client be given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the case materials and that the hearing be postponed. The judge grants the request.

The prosecutor announces the charges, after which Anton Kuzhelkov and Nikolai Prokhorov express their attitude to the charges against them. The believers do not admit guilt, drawing the court's attention to the fact that they have the right to profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, as this is guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution. In addition, they emphasize that their position is in line with the official position of the Russian Federation on this issue.

Anton Kuzhelkov in his speech draws attention to the fact that in the indictment on 31 pages his name is mentioned only 1 time, and the name of God 168 times, in connection with which he has a question: "And who is being judged - me or God, in whom I believe?".

The defense files a motion to attach certain documents: the appellate ruling of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the administrative claim of the Ministry of Justice against the RO UC SI in Russia, the commentary of the Russian Federation to the report of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and the Opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the Mikhailov case. The court grants the request.

Six witnesses are being questioned. Three of them use Article 51 of the Constitution.

Prosecution witnesses are being questioned. One of them refuses to testify. The prosecutor then requests that his testimony be read. The defense objects and the court refuses the prosecutor.

Another witness, Nikolai Prokhorov's boss, gave him a positive characterization. He notes that in his ten years of working together, he often and willingly talked with the accused about the Bible on his own initiative, and that Nicholas never agitated him.

The court interrogates Nikolai Aparshev, an employee of the FSB of Russia in the Tambov region. He cannot say what kind of activity Kuzhelkov posed a danger to Russia. At the same time, he claims that holding worship services, refusing blood transfusions and military service are extremist actions. However, after a clarifying question from the lawyer, Aparshev admits his mistake.

Also, this FSB officer states that screenshots were recorded on the believer's computer at intervals of 10 seconds. Aparshev claims that they depict facts of extremist activity. But he cannot point out signs of extremism in these screenshots or explain how they confirm the continuation of the LRO's activities.

The court interrogates FSB officer Tsyplakov. According to him, the ORM against Prokhorov was carried out because he has been a Jehovah's Witness for a long time. Another reason is that in the videos provided by a secret FSB informant, Nikolai Prokhorov sings songs from the website of Jehovah's Witnesses.

At the same time, he notes that during the services "no one was injured ... There was nothing life-threatening there."

The 9th court hearing in the case is already underway. To support the believers, 10 people come to the meeting, but only Anton Kuzhelkov's wife is allowed into the hall.

Witnesses for the prosecution are questioned at the hearing, including the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Shcherbakov, who was involved in the case as an expert (he retells the history of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, and explains that the form of this name is in the Synodal translation of the Bible). The testimonies of those who did not appear are announced, and the case materials are also examined.

Another hearing is being held in the case of two believers. The court gets acquainted with the material evidence, audio recordings are listened to.

Judge Nikolai Glistin changes the measure of restraint for Anton Kuzhelkov from imprisonment. He was released from the pre-trial detention center on the same day. In total, the believer spent 430 days in custody.

The court considers material evidence - video recordings of worship services.

The Tambov Regional Court considers the prosecutor's complaint about the mitigation of the preventive measure for Anton Kuzhelkov and rejects it. The believer remains prohibited from certain actions.

The Kirsanovsky District Court suspends consideration of the case in connection with the serious illness of Nikolai Prokhorov. The hearings will continue after his recovery.

The court is interrogating a well-known religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, State Counselor of the Russian Federation S. I. Ivanenko, who explains that the individual spiritual activity of Jehovah's Witnesses is carried out according to the model left by Christians of the first century. The congregation, according to Ivanenko, is a religious group, not an LRO.

2 defense witnesses are interrogated, who give Kuzhelkov positive characteristics.

The prosecution is petitioning for the appointment of a comprehensive linguistic, psychological and religious examination. The defence requests that the hearing be adjourned in order to prepare its questions.

The defense objects to the appointment of a comprehensive psychological, linguistic and religious examination, which was previously requested by the prosecution. The court rejects the objection, but satisfies the defense's petition to include its issues in the general list and appoint an examination to the Federal Center for Forensic Examination. The court also allows Anton Kuzhelnikov to be present during the examination.

The court rejects the petition of the head of the Russian Federal Center for Forensic Expertise under the Ministry of Justice to involve religious expert Ekaterina Elbakyan in the process. He justifies this by the fact that Elbakyan works at the Russian Academy of Education, and not at the RFTSSE.

The court satisfies the petition of the state prosecutor for the appointment of an examination in the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization "Kirov Regional Center for Research and Expertise of Vyatka State University".

To support the believers, 15 people who came from Tambov come to the hearing.

The case begins to be considered by a new judge - Elena Shubakina.

Anton Kuzhelkov recuses his lawyer. The court shall grant the motion and adjourn the hearing.

The prosecutor reads out the indictment. Defendants Kuzhelkov and Prokhorov express their attitude to the charge, stating that they do not agree with him.

The interrogation of prosecution witnesses begins, including senior commissioner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs D. Kursky, former senior commissioner S. Sablin, employee of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Tambov region N. V. Aparshin, head of the economic security department Tsyplakov (who worked at the Center for Countering Extremism during the ORM), as well as senior district police officer Sergey Kuznetsov. The testimonies of several witnesses shall be read out.

More than 20 people come to support the believer. The prosecution is interrogating a religious scholar, associate professor of the Department of History and Philosophy of Tambov State University Yana Chernova. She talks about Jehovah's Witnesses and draws the court's attention to the fact that their beliefs are based on the Bible.

A prosecution witness is being questioned. He says that he communicated with believers more than 5 years ago. It turns out that he was interrogated together with his wife, their testimony is absolutely identical.

The defense draws the court's attention to the fact that none of the documents submitted by the prosecution contains evidence of illegal activities of believers. These materials either date back to 2017 or have no dates at all, and therefore it is impossible to establish how they relate to the present case. All of them only confirm that the defendants belong to the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which they do not hide anyway.

Further, the defense recalls that the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation liquidated legal entities, among which the assembly of believers in Kirsanov is not listed. Moreover, the Supreme Court's decision states that religious groups, such as the Kirsanov congregation, have not been liquidated at all. Consequently, the activities of these groups are absolutely legitimate.

At the request of the prosecutor, the hearings are held behind closed doors.

The court grants the motion to consider the case in public. Listeners enter the hall.

The lawyer comments on the conclusions of the comprehensive examination and states that the experts provide a false conclusion about the prohibition of the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses on the territory of the Russian Federation. He further refutes the conclusion that the defendants allegedly distributed banned literature. He says that they are not accused of this, therefore, the conclusion made on the initiative of the expert is an attempt to aggravate the situation of the defendants.

The lawyer also points out that neither the expert nor the expert organization notified the defense of the start of the examination. Thus, the court's decision on the defendants' ability to be present during the examination and give explanations was violated.

A religious study by Y. Y. Aseeva is re-read in court. The defense again draws attention to the fact that at the time of the examination, Aseyeva did not have the appropriate education.

At the request of the lawyer, the testimony of religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko, which he gave in 2022, is read out. Commenting on Aseeva's study, Ivanenko noted that at the time of the examination, she worked as a neurologist, was the founder of the Heritage of Islam LRO, but did not have scientific works in the field of religious studies. In addition, Aseeva described the methodology for conducting the examination, but did not apply it in her conclusions.

Ivanenko drew attention to the fact that there are no "materials in the case where the defendants would talk about their hostility to other religions, about the need to somehow suppress these religions, to infringe on the rights of their followers." Ivanenko also explained that holding religious services by Jehovah's Witnesses and disseminating their religious views "is a canonical activity aimed at studying the Bible and biblical literature."

The court suspends the proceedings in the case against Nikolay Prokhorov due to his oncological disease.

In the Kolpinsky District Court of St. Petersburg, witnesses for the defense are being questioned via video conferencing. Anton Kuzhelkov's father-in-law characterizes him as a kind, honest person who respects government officials and observes the law. When asked by the lawyer whether the defendant is prone to violence, he answers: "No, this has never happened. I communicate frankly with my daughter, and she would share it if there was such behavior."

Another witness, who has known Anton and his family for many years, says: "I can say that he is a good and caring husband, son, friend. When we first met, I was touched by his determination not to take up arms and his desire to serve in another legal way—in the nursing home, where he cared for the elderly. Not every young person is capable of this."

Anton Kuzhelkov testifies. He says: "I am accused of singing religious songs. However, in his testimony, witness Tsyplakov said that the texts were not checked for extremist content. In addition, no one checked whether they were actually from the site that this witness was talking about. He said that since the site is extremist, then everything on it is also extremism. According to his logic, if Pushkin's poems are placed there, will they immediately become extremist? And everyone who reads them, too? The Bible itself says that you need to sing songs of praise to God."

The believer adds that the prosecutor "used the following argument: 'he continues to be a follower of the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses.'" Kuzhelkov emphasizes: "The religious teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses is not banned, as both law enforcement officers and experts said, including when they testified in court. It turns out that the prosecution requires me to renounce my faith. I regard this as discrimination on religious grounds."

The court decides to summon religious experts for questioning. The prosecutor supports it. The defense objects. The lawyer notes that both examinations were carried out with violations, which cannot be corrected through the interrogation of experts.

The prosecutor requests 6 years and 6 months in a general regime colony for Anton Kuzhelkov.

The state prosecutor also asks to impose on the defendant the obligation to reimburse the costs associated with conducting a comprehensive forensic examination in the amount of 500 thousand rubles. Earlier, the defendant's car was seized.

The prosecutor asks the court to sentence the believer to 6.5 years in a general regime colony with a ban on engaging in activities related to leading and participating in the work of public organizations for a period of 4 years.

Anton Kuzhelkov makes his final statement. He draws a parallel between his case and the trial of Jesus Christ: "I am accused of forcibly changing the foundations of the constitutional order of the country ... but I am a follower of Christ. I cannot go against the state."