The Case of Skvortsov and Others in Taganrog

The court liquidates a legal entity - the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Taganrog".

Mass searches are being carried out as part of a criminal case initiated under an "extremist" article against 16 residents of Taganrog for not stopping to gather together for worship. Among the victims is Alexander Skvortsov.

The investigation regards prayers and reading the Bible as a continuation of the extremist activities of the liquidated legal entity.

After 14 months of court hearings, Taganrog City Court judge Oleg Kubantsev issues a verdict in a criminal case against sixteen Jehovah's Witnesses: Aleksandr Skvortsov and six other defendants were convicted, nine believers were acquitted.

The Rostov Regional Court considers the appeals of both parties. The believers are demanding a full acquittal, and the prosecutor's office considers the sentence too lenient. After hearing the arguments of the defense and prosecution, the judge returns the case to the Taganrog City Court for a new trial.

A retrial of the case in court begins. Judge Alexei Vasyutchenko listens to him.

The believers insist on their complete innocence and intend to seek rehabilitation.

Judge Alexei Vasyutchenko sentences: he finds 16 Jehovah's Witnesses guilty and imposes heavy fines on them. In addition, Aleksandr Skvortsov and three other believers were sentenced to 5.5 years of suspended imprisonment.

Anatoly Krasikov, head of the Center for the Study of Problems of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments on this decision: "This is a violation of the law and the Constitution. They [Jehovah's Witnesses] have been persecuted for a long time and absolutely illegally. I have letters from Jehovah's Witnesses about how they are persecuted, written during the Soviet period. They are also being persecuted now."

The Rostov Regional Court upholds the new conviction of 16 Taganrog Jehovah's Witnesses. Judges Shelekhov, Malysheva and Kuznetsov consider their guilt proven. Sentences for believers, including Aleksandr Skvortsov, are coming into force.

Alexander Skvortsov and his wife are lured out of the house by traffic police officers who ask to come to check the information about their car. The Skvortsovs spend about two hours in the inspection. Late in the evening, Alexander discovers tracking equipment in his house. About 3 months ago, his suspended sentence expired.

At about 3 p.m., 8 law enforcement officers come to Aleksandr with a search. In the presence of two witnesses, they search for tracking equipment, searching cabinets, a basement, a barn and a greenhouse. They seize the system unit, tablet, Bible and personal records. The believer's wife becomes ill due to high blood pressure, and an ambulance is called for her.

Security forces come with searches to more than 30 residents of Taganrog, including Alexander Skvortsov. Not having time to open the door, he gets kicked in the stomach, because of which he falls to the cold floor, his arms are twisted.

The investigator of the Investigative Directorate for the city of Taganrog of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov Region, A. A. Bolotin, makes a decision to bring Skvortsov as a defendant in a criminal case.

The court chooses a measure of restraint for Alexander Skvortsov in the form of detention. The believer is placed in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Taganrog.

The lawyer visits Aleksandr Skvortsov in the pre-trial detention center. The physical and emotional condition of the believer is good.

When Aleksandr was admitted to the pre-trial detention center, he was quarantined in a dirty cell with cockroaches and mice. But now he is kept in a clean 4-bed cell. The believer has a place to sleep, bed linen. They promise to replace the old mattress. The food is satisfactory.

According to Skvortsov, there is no Bible in the library of the pre-trial detention center. Alexander regularly receives letters. One of them, from his wife Larisa, he read to his cellmates. They were impressed by their warm relationship. Cellmates are surprised that "they are imprisoned for their faith."

The believer says that during the execution of the detention protocol, a bill of 1000 rubles was found in his possession. At Alexander's request, law enforcement officers did not seize it, but personally handed it over to his wife.

It becomes known that the believer was transferred from pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Taganrog to pre-trial detention center No. 5 in Rostov-on-Don.

The Investigation Department opened a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code against Valery Tibiy on charges of "organizing the activities of a religious organization — the Taganrog LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses, recognized as extremist and liquidated" back in 2009.

The cases against Tibiy and Skvortsov are combined into one proceeding.

Law enforcement officers detain and place 45-year-old Valery Tibiy in a temporary detention center.

Judge of the Taganrog City Court Nikolay Smirnov decides to send Valery Tibiy to custody for 19 days, until June 7, 2022.

Valeriy Tibiy is taken to pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don.

The lawyer visits Valeriy Tibiy in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Rostov region. The believer says that the conditions of his detention are satisfactory. It has its own bunk and bedside table. Together with Valery, there are 15 other people in the cell. Despite his health difficulties, he maintains a positive attitude. Tibius has his own copy of the Bible. Twice a week, letters are handed to him, about 100 pieces at a time. Many of them are colorfully illustrated. Prisoners look at them with pleasure, often reading letters throughout the cell.

On the same day, the lawyer visits Aleksandr Skvortsov in pre-trial detention center No. 5 in the Rostov region. The believer says that during 2 months of imprisonment in the Taganrog pre-trial detention center he was in solitary confinement. His state of health is satisfactory. Alexander is kept in a cell with 6 other prisoners, he is rarely taken out for walks. According to him, "the food in the new place is much better than it was in Taganrog." His cellmates treat him with respect. Alexander has a Bible. He receives letters of support. In prison, he began to write poetry.

The court takes into custody the third defendant in the case, Vladimir Moiseenko.

The lawyer visits Aleksandr Skvortsov in the pre-trial detention center. The believer says that his physical and emotional condition is good, but his eyesight began to drop due to stress.

Since his arrest, Aleksandr has changed 13 cells. In the one where he is now, there are 3 more people. Everyone has their own bed. The cell has a TV and a refrigerator, the food is satisfactory. Cellmates and the administration treat Skvortsov well. If possible, he maintains physical fitness: push-ups and tries to walk a lot.

Alexander began to receive letters regularly. During the day, he has the opportunity to answer them. Cellmates are asked to read them interesting thoughts and riddles from letters.

The case of Aleksandr Skvortsov and Valery Tibiy is submitted to the Taganrog City Court of the Rostov Region. It will be considered by judge Georgy Serebryanikov.

At the first hearing on the merits, the court extended the detention of the defendants in the pre-trial detention center for six months at once, despite the fact that both believers have health problems, in particular, Valery Tibiy recently suffered a heart attack. The judge does not take into account the medical documents provided by the lawyer and the positive characteristics of the believers.

About 50 people come to support the believers, only 10 are allowed into the meeting room. The defendants refuse lawyers by appointment, instead of them, a lawyer enters the case by agreement.

Before the hearing, the lawyer visits Skvortsov in the pre-trial detention center. The believer is in a good mood, has the Bible and the opportunity to read it. He is being held in a 6-bed cell along with 3 other prisoners. Two of them smoke. His cellmates treat Aleksandr with respect, as do the staff of the pre-trial detention center.

A hearing is being held in the Taganrog City Court. In addition to the participants in the trial, 13 more listeners out of about 30 who came to the courthouse are allowed to attend it to support believers, including relatives.

The defense file a motion to return the criminal case to the prosecutor and attach the ECHR decision to the case file. The court postpones the consideration of the first petition to the next hearing, and satisfies the second.

The prosecution begins the questioning of a witness - an embedded FSB agent Nesterenko, who pretended to be interested in the Bible and recorded conversations with believers. At the next hearing, it is planned to continue questioning this and other prosecution witnesses.

It becomes known that Valery Tibiy was transferred to pre-trial detention center No. 5 in the Rostov region.

The lawyer visits Valeriy Tibiy in the pre-trial detention center. The believer does not complain about his health. A sense of humor helps him maintain a positive attitude.

There are 3 more people in the cell with Valery. Two prisoners in the cell smoke a lot. The believer is respected by his cellmates and the administration. He has the opportunity to read the Gospels, as he left the complete Bible to the prisoners at their request in the previous pre-trial detention center.

The lawyer unsuccessfully appeals to the regional court against the decision to keep Valeriy Tibiy and Aleksandr Skvortsov in a pre-trial detention center - the believers have been there for 8 and 13 months, respectively.

A support group of approximately 25 people gathers outside the courthouse. However, only ten are allowed into the hall.

Witness R. I. Nesterenko, an FSB major who has been collecting information about believers since 2016, is being interrogated. He repeats the testimony given to the investigator, and answers the lawyers' questions with vague wording.

Another witness says that in 2000 he successfully underwent treatment with the use of blood substitutes and does not regret the decision.

The court rejects the lawyer's request to return the criminal case to the prosecutor.

During the interrogation of the participants in the search - the investigator, the police officer and the witness - the fact is mentioned that the security forces seized a printout of quotes from the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code from Skvortsov, classifying it as extremist literature.

At this time, there are 50 people near the building who came to support the believers. Employees of the court and its visitors are surprised by so many friends of the defendants.

The court reads out a transcript of a conversation about the condition of the dead between Valery Tibiy, Alexander Skvortsov and FSB Major Nesterenko, mentioning biblical quotations.

An audio recording of another conversation between Valery Tibiy and the embedded FSB agent Nesterenko, who pretended to be interested in the Bible, is listened to. They discuss why there is so much evil in the world. During the conversation, Nesterenko asks many questions, which Valery answers with the help of the Bible. There are no extremist statements on the recording.

The prosecutor requests punishment for the defendants. He proposes to imprison Aleksandr Skvortsov for 8 years and 6 months, and Valery Tibiy for 6 years and 6 months. The state prosecutor also asks to restrict the freedom of believers for 9.5 and 8.5 years, respectively, with a ban on carrying out activities for a period of one and a half years.

"My faith has not been shaken, but has become even stronger." The text of the last word of Alexander Skvortsov is published.

"My motives were kind and peaceful, which motivates me to love Jehovah God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my life, and to love my neighbor as myself." Valery Tibiy made his last speech.

As it became known, Alexander Skvortsov was transferred to pre-trial detention center No. 3 in Novocherkassk.

Alexander Skvortsov is in a pre-trial detention center in the city of Grozny, 800 kilometers from Taganrog. The believer feels good. Every day he is taken for a walk, and once a week - to the bath. Alexander doesn't have a Bible right now. In his spare time, he writes poetry.