The Case of Danielyan in Rubtsovsk

Operational search measures are being carried out in relation to Andrey Danielyan: wiretapping of telephone conversations, obtaining information from a personal computer.

S. A. Zavorin, senior investigator for internal affairs of the Altai Territory Directorate of the Federal Security Service of Russia, initiates a criminal case against 52-year-old Andrey Danielyan for participation in the activities of an extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This is how the investigation interprets the peaceful worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses and conversations with people on spiritual topics.

Judge of the Central District Court of Barnaul Marina Novikova gives permission to conduct a search in the apartment of Andrey Danielyan and 7 other believers.

Andrey Danielyan is elected a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave.

Law enforcement officers are conducting a special operation codenamed "Armageddon" in Barnaul, Zarinsk, Rubtsovsk, the village of Telmenka and the villages of Troitskoye, Shakhi and Lugovoye.The search in the family of Andrei Danielyan is carried out by investigator S. A. Zavorin with the participation of FSB operative D. A. Davydov, an IT specialist and 2 witnesses. At 6 o'clock in the morning they come to the apartment of believers and open the door with their key. Danielyan and his wife wake up to the sound of the door opening. The search shall take place without the use of force.

The investigator seized electronic devices, a diary, bank cards, documents for an apartment and personal savings that believers were saving for the repair of the dacha. An IT specialist from the FSB opens the account on the believer's laptop and copies files and personal correspondence from it.

After a 4-hour search of the spouses, the Danielyans are taken for interrogation to the FSB, where the investigator tries to put pressure on Andrey to incriminate himself and cooperate with the investigation "for the sake of his wife's well-being." The investigator chooses a preventive measure against Andrey Danielyan in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place and proper behavior.

The investigator arrests Andrey Danielyan's property - cash seized during the search (about 145 thousand rubles) - on the basis of a decision of the Central District Court of Barnaul.

S. A. Zavorin, Senior Investigator for Internal Affairs of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Altai Territory, hands Andrey Danielyan a decision to bring him as a defendant in committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, the investigator reclassifies the charge from part 2 (participation) to part 1 (organization).

The document states that "A. E. Danielyan propagated the ideology on behalf of a group of people calling themselves "Jehovah's Witnesses", in particular the idea of the primary and immutable authority of Jehovah, the opposition of Jehovah and Satan, the "spirit of God" and the "spirit of the world", the need to live in accordance with the moral laws established by Jehovah's norms, which is manifested in respect for the authority (divine), in the preference of the spiritual to the material, which is propaganda of the exclusivity and superiority of persons on the basis of belonging to the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Also, according to the investigation, "A.E. Danielyan carried out preaching activities, and in addition conducted a prayer for all those gathered and discussed the holding of subsequent meetings, which testifies to the leading role of A.E. Danielyan in this meeting of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses."

A senior investigator interrogates Danielyan.

The case goes to the Rubtsovsk City Court of the Altai Territory.

The prosecutor requests 7 years of imprisonment in a penal colony for Andrey Danielyan. The court entered the stage of debate of the parties in just 5 sessions.

Andrey Danielyan delivers his final statement. He wonders: "How can you forbid believing, worshiping God? These are the promptings of the soul and heart. They can't be banned!"

The court convicts the believer - 6 years in a general regime colony. Danielyan is taken into custody in the courtroom and placed in pre-trial detention center No. 4 in Rubtsovsk.

The lawyer visits Andrey Danielyan in the pre-trial detention center, where the believer was placed immediately after the verdict was announced. He says that at first it was difficult to get used to the new conditions of detention. Danielyan did not expect that just for reading the Bible he would receive a real prison term.

For the first week of his imprisonment, Andrey was in quarantine, which did not provide for walks on the street. He was then transferred to a double cell, where he is kept alone. Now the believer is taken out into the fresh air, which helps him maintain a positive attitude.

The believer has no complaints about his health. The administration of the institution treats Danielyan with respect. He has already had 2 dates with his wife. The believer has a Bible. Letters from family and friends also serve as a great support for him. He has already received more than 200 of them - not only from Russia, but also from Kazakhstan, Germany, Belarus and the Baltic states.