Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Law Enforcement Authorities of Transbaikalia Broke a Sad Record: On February 10, Searches Were Conducted in 50 Homes of Believers

Trans-Baikal Territory

Previous anti-records were recorded in Sochi (36 searches) and Nizhny Novgorod (35 searches). Law enforcement officers from other regions participated in each of the raids. Following the Supreme Court's decision against Jehovah's Witnesses, as of the end of February 2020, searches were conducted in 869 apartments of believers.

The Investigative Committee officially announced that before the raids, more than 30 investigative and operational groups were formed, which operated in Chita and areas of the Trans-Baikal Territory.

In total, on February 10, 2020, searches were carried out in 14 settlements: Chita (20 searches), Khilok (4 searches), Krasnokamensk (4 searches), Baley (3 searches) and Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky (2 searches), the villages of Yasnogorsk (5 searches), Amazar (4 searches), Duldurga (2 searches), Verkhnyaya Hila (1 search), Kurort-Darasun (1 search) and Pervomaiskoye (1 search), as well as in the villages of Verkh-Chita (1 search), Zasopka (1 search) and Ilya (1 search). During the storming of one of the apartments in Chita, law enforcement officers brutally beat 17-year-old Alexander Karpov (injuries were recorded, the actions of law enforcement officers are being appealed).

During the day, law enforcement officers took 27 people to the investigating authorities, including 8 women, including those of retirement age. Most of them were released home after interrogation, but four were detained and placed in a temporary detention facility. One of them was later placed under house arrest, and three more left the detention center after 5 days.

At least one of the believers, Vadim Kutsenko, said that law enforcement officers tortured him with a stun gun. He was handcuffed behind his back, his eyes were closed and taken to the forest, where he was beaten, strangled and electrocuted in the lower leg and abdomen, demanding a confession.

Vadim Kutsenko and other believers complained about the actions of law enforcement officers to the relevant authorities.

It is known that a criminal case for faith was initiated against at least 6 Chita residents.

Case of Ermolaev and Others in Chita

Case History
Vladimir Ermolaev, Aleksandr Putintsev, Sergey Kirilyuk and Igor Mamalimov faced prosecution for their faith in 2020, when security forces carried out 50 searches in Chita and other cities in Transbaikalia. During the raid, several believers were detained and two were tortured. Mamalimov, Kirilyuk and Ermolaev were placed in a temporary detention facility, where they spent several days. At some point, four more believers were suspects in the case, but their criminal prosecution was discontinued. For holding peaceful religious services, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation accused Ermolaev, Putintsev, Mamalimov and Kirilyuk of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Despite the fact that there were no victims in the case and there was no evidence of crimes against the state and the individual, in 2022 the court sentenced Vladimir Ermolaev, Aleksandr Putintsev and Igor Mamalimov to imprisonment in a penal colony for 6 to 6.5 years, and Sergey Kirilyuk - to 6 years suspended. The court of appeal upheld this verdict. The courts of appeal and cassation did not change this verdict. In 2024, the criminal prosecution of Kutsenko resumed.
Timeline

Persons in case

Ermolaev
Vladimir
Kirilyuk
Sergey
Kutsenko
Vadim
Loskutov
Aleksey
Mamalimov
Pavel
Mamalimov
Igor
Putintsev
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Trans-Baikal Territory
Locality:
Chita
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, he "took active organizational actions ... expressed in the organization of meetings, the organization of religious speeches and worship ... fundraising under the guise of donations... involvement of new participants... by carrying out the preaching work."
Court case number:
12002760023000001
Initiated:
January 20, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Trans-Baikal Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-10/2022 (1-360/2021)
Court of First Instance:
Центральный районный суд г. Читы
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Марина Куклина
The State Prosecutor:
Ковыльченко Д. Г.
Case History
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