The Case of Dolzhikov in Novosibirsk

A criminal case has been opened against Dmitry Dolzhikov "on the fact of participation in the activities of an extremist organization." Subsequently, the investigation was repeatedly suspended and resumed.

Dmitry Dolzhikov is charged with participation in the activities of an extremist organization. The decision is made by the investigator of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Novosibirsk Region A. Bryuzgin. He also chooses a measure of restraint in the form of a written undertaking not to leave.

The court allows a search at the place of residence of Dmitry Dolzhikov in Chelyabinsk. This is requested by the investigator of the Investigative Committee A. Chepenko. Investigative actions are being carried out in the case of Yevgeny Bushev.

Dmitry Dolzhikov's apartment in Chelyabinsk is being searched.

FSB officers deliver Dmitry Dolzhikov from Chelyabinsk to Novosibirsk. The believer is placed in a temporary detention facility.

The court places Dmitry Dolzhikov in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Novosibirsk.

The investigator of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Novosibirsk Region, A. Chernenko, separates the criminal case against Maxim Eremeev and unidentified persons into a separate proceeding.

Dolzhikov's case is submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk.

The court puts Dmitry Dolzhikov under house arrest.

The first hearing on the merits of the case is held.

Vitaliy Popov, a Jehovah's Witness who had previously been sentenced for his faith, is being interrogated. He says he does not know the defendant and has never testified against him.

Natalia Popova, Vitaly's wife, as well as a man born in 1947, is being interrogated. Both use Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in connection with which the prosecutor reads out their testimony given at the investigation stage. The man says that he testified to the investigator in severe stress, since shortly before that he learned about his wife's cancer.

The court extends Dolzhikov's house arrest for another 3 months. At the same time, in connection with the positive characteristic from the penitentiary service, he is allowed to independently get to the courthouse to participate in the hearings.

The court begins to examine the materials of the case. The prosecutor voices only the pages and names of the documents contained on these pages. The court rejects the defense's request for a full investigation of the transcripts of worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses dated June and September 2018. The lawyer draws attention to the fact that the materials that are important for the proceedings have not been examined, which means that it is impossible to refer to them when making a decision.

Prosecution witness Sergei Kozlyuk is being questioned. In his testimony to the court, the man says that he is not familiar with Dolzhikov and has not previously been interrogated in this case. Kozlyuk's testimony, which he gave in the cases of Yuri Savelyev and Vitaly Popov, is read out. Answering the prosecutor's questions, the witness uses Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Two other prosecution witnesses, a 70-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman, are being questioned. Both say that they do not know Dmitry Dolzhikov and the investigator has never interrogated them in the framework of this criminal case.

The prosecutor and the judge ask the witnesses questions about Yuriy Savelyev and Vitaliy Popov. In addition, the man is being interrogated about the circumstances of the search, which took place at his home in 2019.

A man who attended meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses before 2007 is being interrogated. He explains that their services were exclusively peaceful and took place in the same way in different cities. But he knows nothing about their activities after 2007.

The witness explains the difference between a legal entity and a congregation of believers. Along with previously questioned witnesses, he explains that he does not know Dolzhikov personally and has never seen him before.

It becomes known that some of the prosecution witnesses who never appeared in court have died. The whereabouts of witness Oleg Zaev are being established. With regard to another witness, a decision was made to forcibly bring him.

The prosecution reads out the names of the documents from the case file. The defense continues to insist on a detailed study of the inspection protocols, and not just on the announcement of their names.

The announcement of volumes of the case continues. The defense draws the court's attention to the fact that the 6th volume of the case contains materials dated mainly to 2010, 2011 and 2012, and therefore are outside the scope of the charges brought against Dolzhikov.

The court extends Dolzhikov's house arrest for another 3 months, despite the positive characteristics and the absence of any violations on his part.

The study of the case materials continues. The lawyer again draws attention to the fact that the documents are dated 2007-2016 and therefore do not belong to the period of the actions imputed to Dolzhikov.

The prosecutor reads out the testimony of one of the prosecution witnesses, who never appeared in court, despite repeated summonses.

The prosecution witness, the owner of the apartment in which Dmitry and his wife lived for some time, is being interrogated. The woman saw him only once. Describing the defendant, she says: "There have never been complaints, and there are simply no such wonderful people! Dmitry helped in the apartment, and always handed over the money on time.

At the request of the prosecutor, Artyom Silvestrov, an Orthodox priest, head of the Information and Consulting Center for Sectarianism of the Novosibirsk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, is being interrogated. He expresses his dislike of Jehovah's Witnesses in general. According to him, he got information about this confession from Internet blogs, the writings of an Orthodox activist and communication with former Jehovah's Witnesses.

A secret witness under the pseudonym "Natalia Ivanova" is being interrogated. This witness explains that he had previously attended services of Jehovah's Witnesses, where she saw Dolzhikov several times. According to him, Dmitry and other believers discussed biblical topics and everyday issues at these meetings. The witness never heard Dolzhikov call for violence or the overthrow of the constitutional order. The Witness reported that he had no dislike for Jehovah's Witnesses.

The court does not grant the defense's request to declassify the witness. He also objects to the declassification of his identity, although he admits that he has never received threats from Dolzhikov.

The Court continues to examine the materials of the volumes of the case. Among them are court orders to remove information from technical communication channels. The prosecutor reads out only the titles of these documents, without specifying in respect of whom they were drawn up. The lawyer draws attention to the fact that specific persons are indicated in the decisions and Dolzhikov is not among them. The judge rejects this argument and states that "it will be up to the public prosecutor to decide how to present the evidence."

The prosecutor continues to read out the names of documents from the case file. The lawyer asks for a remark to be made to the prosecutor in the protocol due to the fact that he does not examine the materials themselves. The judge refuses to do so. Also, the defense draws attention to the fact that the dates of at least two documents are beyond the scope of the charges brought against Dolzhikov.

The court reads out the written testimony of Orthodox activist Oleg Zaev, since he stopped communicating with the bailiffs and there was no opportunity to summon him to the hearing.

The prosecution continues to list the names of documents from the case file.

The defense draws the court's attention to Dmitry's statement, made at the investigation stage. According to the believer, the testimony of secret witness Natalia Ivanova, as well as Orthodox activist Oleg Zaev, does not correspond to reality. Despite this, there were no confrontations with witnesses.

Examining the 23rd volume of the case, the prosecution draws attention to the fact that Dolzhikov and his lawyer refused to get acquainted with the material evidence and other materials of the case. Dmitriy claims that investigator Alexei Chernenko misled him by saying that there was no need to waste time on this. Dolzhikov himself did not refuse to get acquainted with the case materials.

Witness Lyudmila Timshina, who attended Jehovah's Witnesses' services several times 6 years ago, is being interrogated via video link. She informs the court that Dolzhikova does not know.

The protocols of Timshina's interrogations are announced. According to the woman, she was interrogated at night, after a search in her house, and she was under severe stress. She states that she does not agree with the dates, times and some of the wording of these protocols, and explains that during the interrogations the investigator sat next to her and corrected her statement. In addition, she did not name the names indicated in the protocols and learned them only during interrogation.

Timshina describes her impressions of the services. According to her, they discussed "family topics, different, but very interesting." She believes that Jehovah's Witnesses are "engaged in enlightenment, acquaintance with God."

The court grants Dmitry Dolzhikov's petition to study materials from the criminal case of Yuri Savelyev. At the same time, the court refuses to request information from the Ministry of Justice about the religion and beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, although this data could refute the testimony of Silvestrov and Zaev.

The defense interrogates the secret witness "Natalia Ivanova". Dmitriy asks questions about discrepancies in his testimony. Answering most of them, the witness refers to the fact that a lot of time has passed, and he does not remember or finds it difficult to answer.

Dmitry Dolzhikov is being interrogated. He pleads not guilty and states that he is being tried only for his faith in Jehovah God. "I have never heard or read anywhere that a court imposed a ban on the practice of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses ... [or that they] were forbidden to worship God, to worship, to pray, to sing religious songs. There was no such ban and there is none," says Dmitry.

He states: "The testimony of the witness O. V. Zaev outraged me, because this man, using unverified information and telling blatant lies, misleads the court. I know Jehovah's Witnesses... for 27 years. I have always seen happy families, joyful, law-abiding and peace-loving people who have excellent relations with neighbors and relatives, even if they do not share their faith.

Dolzhikov emphasizes that the criminal prosecution had a negative impact on his entire family. He and his wife have elderly parents whom he cannot help, and his wife herself has a serious illness exacerbated due to stress.