Case of Baybak in Rostov-on-Don

The First Investigation Department (located in Rostov-on-Don) of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiates a criminal case for faith under Article 282.2 (2); According to the investigation, he participated in religious meetings, including religious services; made donations; engaged in agitation among persons who are not followers of the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. Innocent victims of law enforcement officers are: Baibak Semyon (born in 1997).

Major Kalnitsky, Deputy Head of the First Investigation Department of the First Investigation Department of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia, is initiating another criminal case against 22-year-old Semyon Baybak under Part 1 of Article 282.3. Semyon is accused of collecting donations to rent a room for meetings of fellow believers. In this, the investigator sees the financing of an extremist organization banned by a court decision.

Judge of the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don Strokov extended the term of house arrest of Baybak for 3 months - until May 5, 2020.

Baybak's criminal case is transferred to the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don to Judge Vladimir Barvin.

The first hearing in the case of Semyon Baybak is being held in the Leninsky District Court. A prosecution witness is being questioned. He says that he has known Semyon for about 13 years, they read the Bible together, but were not in any legal entity.

The witness explains that the donated funds were used to help fellow believers, and not to finance a banned organization and the needs of a legal entity.

The witness retracts some of the preliminary statements, stating that the investigator entered the wording in them at his discretion. According to him, the term "organization" appears several times in the protocol, although he did not use it during the interrogation.

In the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, the debate of the parties in the case of Semyon Baibak is taking place. The prosecutor demands a sentence for the believer in the form of 4 years of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of 5 years.

During the debate, Semyon reminds the court on what material evidence the charges against him are based. These are electronic devices that do not belong to him and do not contain anything prohibited; badges in the names of other people; video recordings of events at which he was not present; notebooks with notes in a foreign language, the contents of which have not been examined.

In addition to this, the defendant shows the court the minutes of the meetings of the members of the LRO. His name is not there, as he was never part of a legal entity. "I am innocent. And I do not think that my guilt has been proven in any way," the believer concludes his speech in the debate with these words.

The meeting is postponed to December 18, 2020. On this day, Semyon should make his last speech. At the same time, the court may announce the verdict.

In the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, the defendant delivers his last word. Judge Vladimir Barvin sets the date for the announcement of the verdict on December 21, 2020.

In the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Judge Vladimir Barvin announces the verdict: to find Semyon Baybak guilty under Articles 282.2 and 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The believer was sentenced to 3.5 years of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of 4.5 years, 1 year of restriction of freedom, namely: it is forbidden to leave home from 22:00 to 6:00, it is forbidden to visit institutions where alcoholic beverages are sold, it is forbidden to travel outside Rostov-on-Don, change the place of residence and place of work, it is ordered to appear 2 times a month in the supervisory authority for registration. The believer must be immediately released from the measure of restraint in the form of house arrest.

The Rostov Regional Court, by its appellate decision, upholds the verdict against Semyon Baybak.

The Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar is considering the complaint of Semyon Baibak.

The believer draws the attention of the panel of judges to the contradictions in the written and oral testimony of the key prosecution witness. After that, he notes: "The video recordings [of the services] last about 40 hours, but, as it turned out, the two interrogations [of the witness] lasted an hour and a half. The question arises: how was he able to watch 40 hours of video in three hours? The interpreter answered this question: she said bluntly that the investigator turned on the video recordings at the right moment so that the witness could identify my voice. Semyon concludes: "It's like bringing a person for identification, pointing your finger at one of the people and saying, 'This is the person you need to point to.'"

The defense draws attention to the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court (dated October 28, 2021), noting that the mere fact of participation in worship services is not enough to qualify the actions of a believer as criminal.

Despite this, the court leaves the sentence of Baybak unchanged: 3.5 years suspended. Semyon is determined to continue to seek rehabilitation.