Invasion of believers in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in 2019 (archival photo)

Invasion of believers in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in 2019 (archival photo)

Invasion of believers in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in 2019 (archival photo)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

On the evening of April 19, incursions against believers took place in 3 regions of Russia, 5 people were detained

Krasnoyarsk Territory,   Primorye Territory

On the evening of April 19, 2019, in Novosibirsk, Partizansk (Primorsky Territory), Sharypov and Minusinsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory), groups of law enforcement officers came with searches to the apartments of citizens who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. 5 people were detained, two of them remain in the pre-trial detention center.

In Novosibirsk, FSB officers invaded 6 houses at the same time. It turned out that in the morning a new criminal case was opened in the city (not related to the Savelyev case). 64-year-old Aleksandr Seredkin, 44-year-old Valery Maletskov, as well as local resident Marina Chaplykina were detained. On April 21, the court refused to detain them, the men were placed under house arrest, and the investigator took a written undertaking not to leave the woman.

In Partizansk, from 20:30, a search was conducted for 5 hours in the house of an 80-year-old woman (during the search she needed emergency medical assistance). 8 representatives of the FSB and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation came to her house. After the search, the women in the house were interrogated until the morning. An investigation team consisting of at least 4 investigators has been established. 44-year-old Irina Buglak was detained.

In Sharypov, religious literature was searched in at least 8 houses of local residents. Bibles (the Synodal Edition, as well as the Translation of Archimandrite Macarius), greeting cards, notebooks were seized. An investigation team consisting of more than 10 investigators has been established. 28-year-old Anton Ostapenko was detained.

The Case of Seredkin in Novosibirsk

Case History
The criminal prosecution of Aleksandr Seredkin began in April 2019, when law enforcement officers invaded the homes of peaceful residents. During the searches, law enforcement officers planted banned books. As a result of the raid, the FSB initiated a criminal case for organizing and participating in the activity of an extremist organization against three believers: Aleksandr Seredkin, Valeriy Maletskov and Marina Chaplykina. Later, Seredkin’s case was made into a separate proceeding. The believer was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list, which caused difficulties in receiving his pension. Aleksandr spent a day in a temporary detention facility and 6 months under house arrest. In March 2022, the case went to court. The charge was based on the testimony of a secret witness who feigned an interest in the Bible and collaborated with the FSB. In November of the same year, the believer was sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony and placed in a pretrial detention center, and the court of appeal upheld this sentence. A year later, the court of cassation upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Seredkin
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Novosibirsk Region
Locality:
Novosibirsk
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, he "conducted meetings for worship based on the Holy Scriptures (the Bible) with followers of the doctrine... supervised the reading and discussing... of religious literature"
Court case number:
12107500001000044
Initiated:
July 21, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Novosibirsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-277/2022
Court of First Instance:
Oktyabrskiy District Court of the City of Novosibirsk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yevgeniy Zakharov
Case History
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