Photo: Invasion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut (2018)

Photo: Invasion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut (2018)

Photo: Invasion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut (2018)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

FSB hacked into accounts of believers and conducted searches in the Pskov region

Pskov Region

On April 3, 2019, in the city of Porkhov (Pskov region), FSB officers broke into the apartment where the married couple Sergey and Svetlana Komissarov live. The security forces knocked the head of the family to the floor, took away his and his guests' mobile devices and forbade them to record what was happening. Thus began the "operation of the FSB of the city of Pskov", in the context of which another search took place on the same day.

As Sergey said, in the morning at about 11:00 a.m., unknown people began to call persistently at the door of the apartment where they live. "I went to the door, the lock was not closed, I opened the door, I saw a lot of people. Not understanding what was happening, I began to close it, then there was an unexpected attack, blows to the head, I was thrown to the floor. After that, the whole crowd flew into the apartment. Sergey was presented with a court order for a search. Then the security forces under him hacked into his accounts on several Internet resources and, under dictation, recorded the information in the protocol. The computer, tablet and all information media were confiscated by law enforcement officers.

According to eyewitnesses, none of those present were allowed to photograph, rewrite or in any other way record the names, ranks and positions of operatives. The search lasted approximately 4.5 hours. At about 4:30 p.m., the search began in the apartment of two of Sergey's guests. The security forces seized laptops, a tablet, a phone, a bank card and flash drives from them.

As a result, 52-year-old Sergey Komissarov, his wife, as well as 44-year-old Alexei Khabarov were taken for interrogation to the regional center - to the main Directorate of the FSB of Russia in the Pskov region. Around midnight, everyone was released, and the men were ordered not to leave the place.

As it became known, the searches took place within the framework of a criminal case on extremism, which was initiated by the senior investigator for especially important cases of the investigative department of the FSB of Russia in the Pskov region, Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Irina Pravdivtseva.

The Case of Khabarov in Porkhov

Case History
In 2019, the FSB initiated a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Porkhov. Law enforcement officers conducted searches and interrogated local believers. As a result, Aleksey Khabarov was charged with extremism. During the court hearings, all witnesses, including the FSB counter-terrorism officer, spoke positively about Khabarov. In September 2021, the court gave him a 3-year suspended sentence. The court of appeal overturned this decision, and in January 2022, a retrial of the case began in a court comprised of different judges. The prosecutor again requested 3.5 years in a penal colony for Khabarov, but the court acquitted him. In November 2022, the court of appeal again sent the case for a new – third – consideration in the same court. This time the believer was sentenced to 2.5 years in a penal colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom. In December 2023, the court of appeal slightly changed this decision, reducing the term by 2 months. The court of cassation in St. Petersburg upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Pskov Region
Locality:
Porkhov
Suspected of:
"organized, directed and participated in the activity of the subdivision "Jehovah's Witnesses in the City of Porkhov", intentionally, in accordance with their religious beliefs and the goals of the Organization, aiming to spread the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses in the territory of the city of Porkhov, Pskov Region.
Court case number:
11907580001000018
Initiated:
March 28, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
FSB Directorate of Russia for the Pskov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-28/2023 (1-120/2022)
Court:
Porkhovskiy District Court, Pskov Region
Judge:
Nataliya Kapustina
Case History

Case of Komissarov in Porkhov

Case History
On April 3, 2019, in the city of Porkhov, FSB officers conducted an “operation of the FSB of the city of Pskov.” They broke into the apartments of local believers, conducting searches and interrogations. When they came to Sergei Komissarov, they threw him to the floor. The believer learned that the FSB of Russia in the Pskov region opened a criminal case against him and Aleksey Khabarov under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, accusing the believers of “participating in religious meetings” where they “talked about their faith, read the Bible, discussed issues related to this scripture, and sang religious songs.” On March 16, 2020, Komissarov’s case was separated into separate proceedings. The believer made a written request for help to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova, as well as the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Pskov Region Dmitry Shakhov.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Pskov Region
Locality:
Porkhov
Suspected of:
"deliberately, in accordance with their religious beliefs and the goals of the Organization, pursuing the goal of spreading the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses in the territory of the city of Porkhov, Pskov region, organized, directed and participated in the activities of its structural unit "Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Porkhov".
Court case number:
42007580001000012
Initiated:
March 28, 2019
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
FSB Directorate of Russia for the Pskov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-6/2021 (1-111/2020)
Court:
Porkhovskiy District Court, Pskov Region
Case History
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