Photo: Vladimir Alushkin

Criminal trial

In Penza, the prosecutor asked Vladimir Alushkin for 7 years of real prison! The supervisory body ignored the opinion of the UN on this case

Penza Region

Andrey Magliv, Vladimir Kulyasov, Denis Timoshin were sentenced to 4 years in prison, and Tatyana Alushkina and Galiya Olkhova were sentenced to 3 years each. Everyone except Vladimir Alushkin is asked by the prosecutor to replace the prison with forced labor. Meanwhile, the UN Working Group officially recognized Alushkin's arrest as arbitrary.

The prosecutor requested such severe sanctions on December 5, 2019, speaking in a debate in the Leninsky District Court of Penza. All the "guilt" of peaceful Penza residents is faith in Jehovah God. Six people are defendants in the case. Four men are under house arrest and two women are under recognizance agreement. The case is replete with falsifications and inconsistencies. Believers are accused of extremism, although these accusations are not confirmed by witnesses or international arbitrators. A crime is called a joint discussion of the Bible, singing songs with fellow believers, conversations with others about God. Investigators unreasonably consider these actions to be the organization of the activities of a religious organization banned in Russia, although the Supreme Court of Russia did not prohibit the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses itself.

Even before the arrest, the special services monitored the believers for several months, then in July 2018 they staged mass searches and detentions. Vladimir Alushkin, whom the prosecutor's office considers the "leader" of local believers, was sent by the court to a pre-trial detention center, where he stayed for about six months and was then released under house arrest.

The defense tried to appeal against the arrest and measure of restraint of the believers, demanding that the appellate instances declare them illegal. However, the judges of the Penza Regional Court refused to do this and repeatedly extended the terms of the preventive measure.

At the same time, the panel of judges ignores the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, according to which the activities, in particular, of Vladimir Alushkin (and since he is called the "leader", the rest of the arrested Jehovah's Witnesses) cannot be considered extremist. "All the activities in which Alushkin took part are an absolutely peaceful religious discussion," the UN Working Group said in a document.

During the trial, several witnesses, including the main prosecution witness, did not confirm that the defendants' actions were in any way related to extremism. From the interrogations of other witnesses given during the court hearings, it follows that the investigation falsified their preliminary testimony, and some openly exerted pressure.

The continuation of the debate is scheduled for 10.12.2019. There will be a defense.

Case of Alushkin and Others in Penza

Case History
In July 2018, searches were carried out in Penza and criminal cases were initiated against 6 local Jehovah’s Witnesses. It turned out that since the fall of 2017, the believers had been under covert surveillance. Vladimir Alushkin spent six months in a pre-trial detention center. The UN Working Group officially recognized his arrest as arbitrary. In the summer of 2019, the case was submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Penza. During the hearings, it turned out that the protocols of the witnesses’ interrogations were partially falsified by the investigation, and one of the witnesses told the court that she had testified under pressure. In December 2019, Judge Roman Tanchenko sentenced Vladimir Alushkin to 6 years in prison, and Tatyana Alushkina, Galia Olkhova, Vladimir Kulyasov, Andrey Magliv and Denis Timoshin to 2 years suspended. In September 2020, the Penza Regional Court commuted the sentence of Vladimir Alushkin, replacing 6 years in prison with 4 years probation. For the rest, the court upheld the sentence - 2 years suspended. On December 9, 2021, the First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Penza Region
Locality:
Penza
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participating in 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:
11802560015000075
Initiated:
July 11, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Bessonovskiy Inter-district Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Penza Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-110/2020 (1-167/2019)
Court:
Ленинский районный суд г. Пензы
Case History