350 thousand rubles will be paid to the state by a resident of Perm for the right to practice his religion. The verdict was announced to Alexei Metzger

Judge Svetlana Chereneva from the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Perm found 44-year-old Aleksey Metzger guilty under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in extremist activities). By the court verdict of November 14, 2019, he was fined 350 thousand rubles.

The judge did not support the prosecutor's demand for a three-year prison term for the peaceful believer. It is noteworthy that another Jehovah's Witness from Perm, Alexander Solovyov, was also previously fined a comparable amount.

The case against civil engineer Alexei Metzger was based on two episodes - a lecture on a biblical topic in a local house of culture and a conversation in a private apartment. The prosecution did not provide evidence that Metzger committed extremist acts or called for them of others, but the court considered that the mere fact of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is sufficient for a conviction. The believer's defense considers the sentence for believing in God illegal and will appeal against it.

Alexei Metzger became the 28th resident of modern Russia to be criminally convicted for professing faith in Jehovah.