Photo source: zestmarina / depositphotos.com

Photo source: zestmarina / depositphotos.com

Photo source: zestmarina / depositphotos.com

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

A believer was arrested at the Krasnoyarsk airport

Krasnoyarsk Territory

On July 3, 2018, at 4:20 a.m., FSB officers arrested 44-year-old Andrey Stupnikov at Krasnoyarsk's Yemelyanovo airport. He is suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

At check-in, Andrey and his wife were approached by two men. One of them presented an FSB ID card. Andrey was told that he had been detained and would be taken to the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Krasnoyarsk Territory at 18 Dzerzhinsky Street. According to state security officers, within 2 days the court must decide on the measure of restraint against Andrei.

Currently, dozens of citizens professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are in jail and under house arrest. Such a serious violation of the rights of believers is a direct consequence of a miscarriage of justice - the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate and ban all 396 organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia: "The accusations of citizens that they read the Bible together and pray to God are interpreted as "continuation of the activities of an extremist organization." The Council considers that such an interpretation is not consistent with the legal position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. There is a contradiction between the declared position of the Government of the Russian Federation and law enforcement practice. This cannot but cause concern, since criminal prosecutions and arrests have become systemic."

Case of Stupnikov in Krasnoyarsk

Case History
In July 2018, FSB officers arrested engineer Andrei Stupnikov at the Krasnoyarsk airport. The next day, an investigator opened the first criminal case in the region under an extremist article against him for reading the Bible and praying together with friends. He spent 337 days in a pre-trial detention center, 124 days under house arrest and about 2 years under a ban on certain actions. In February 2020, Andrey Stupnikov’s case went to court, and in June 2021 he was sentenced to 6 years in a general regime colony. The appeal upheld this sentence, and the believer was sent to a penal colony in the Kirov region to serve his sentence. In August 2022, the cassation court upheld the decision of the appellate instance.
Timeline

Persons in case

Stupnikov
Andrey

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Locality:
Krasnoyarsk
Suspected of:
according to the investigation they participated in religious services, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses).
Court case number:
11802040002000032
Initiated:
July 3, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Initally was investigated by Investigative Department for the Zheleznodorozhniy District of the Investigative Committee of the City of Krasnoyarsk, later transferred to The Second Investigative Department of the First Directorate for Investigating Especially Important Cases of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-6/2021 (1-113/2020)
Case History
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