Photo: Marat Abdulgalimov, Arsen Abdullaev, Anton Dergalev, Maria Karpova in the courtroom (July 2019)

Photo: Marat Abdulgalimov, Arsen Abdullaev, Anton Dergalev, Maria Karpova in the courtroom (July 2019)

Photo: Marat Abdulgalimov, Arsen Abdullaev, Anton Dergalev, Maria Karpova in the courtroom (July 2019)

Criminal Investigation and Trial

In Dagestan, a court extended the detention of four Christians in prison

Dagestan

Jehovah's Witnesses Maria Karpova, Arsen Abdullaev, Anton Dergalev and Marat Abdulgalimov are sitting in the Makhachkala pre-trial detention center for their faith. On July 25, 2019, Dalgat Hajiyev, a judge of the Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala, ordered that their detention be extended until September 27, 2019, despite the fact that the only charge against them is their religion.

Believers ended up in prison after a raid on the homes of believers, which took place in Dagestan on June 1, 2019.

Dozens of Makhachkala residents came to support their friends at the court hearing. All four are clearly aware that they have not done anything wrong or illegal, and maintain a positive attitude.

Case of Abdullaev and Others in Makhachkala

Case History
In the summer of 2019, the homes of local Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched in four cities of Dagestan. Two religious brochures on the list of extremist materials were planted in one of the homes. Prior to this, the FSB initiated a criminal case against Arsen Abdullaev, Anton Dergalev, Marat Abdulgalimov and Mariya Karpova, accusing them of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. Additionally, the three men were charged with financing a banned organization, while the woman was charged with involving others in it. All four were put on the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists and terrorists. The believers spent 362 days in pre-trial detention, after which they were placed under house arrest. In 2020, the cassation court declared that their detention in a pre-trial detention center for 8 out of 12 months was unlawful. In March 2021, the consideration of the case on the merits began. In November 2022, the court gave Abdullayev, Abdulgalimov and Dergalev 6.5 year suspended sentences and gave Karpova a 6 year suspended sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Abdulgalimov
Marat
Abdullaev
Arsen
Dergalev
Anton
Karpova
Mariya

Criminal case

Region:
Dagestan
Locality:
Makhachkala
Suspected of:
According to the investigation “together with others he conducted religious services, so-called ‘meetings’, during which they studied the printed materials of the banned organization ‘Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia’ with the participation of residents of the Republic of Daghestan”
Court case number:
11907820001000056
Initiated:
May 27, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-5/2022 (1-230/2021)
Court:
Kirovskiy District Court of the City of Makhachkala
Judge:
Amir Amirov
Case History
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