Novozybkov Court Sentenced 4 Jehovah's Witnesses to Jail, But Released Them Because They Have Already Served Their Time

On September 3, 2020, the Novozybkov City Court sentenced Vladimir Khokhlov and Eduard Zhinzhikov to 1 year and 3 months of imprisonment and 1 year of restraint, and Tatyana Shamsheva and Olga Silaeva to 1 year of imprisonment and 6 months of restraint. But, since they have already served their time in a pre-trial detention center, they were released.

None of the believers pleaded guilty to extremism. One of them, Vladimir Khokhlov, addressing the court with the last word, said: “I am accused of committing crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security. I consider this to be unfounded statements, since it is directly opposite to everything I believe in and how I act” (the full text of the speeches with the last words of Eduard Zhinzhikov,Tatiana Shamsheva, and Olga Silaeva is also available).

The criminal prosecution of four civilians from Novozybkov began in June 2019. After a series of raids, 42-year-old Tatiana Shamsheva and 31-year-old Olga Silaeva were the first to be imprisoned. They were accused of “spreading the ideology of the religious organization“ Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia ”by conducting conversations with residents of Novozybkov and Klimovo” (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Four months later, in October 2019, a criminal case was opened against the 42-year-old father of a minor child, Vladimir Khokhlov, and 47-year-old Eduard Zhinzhikov. They gathered to pray and discuss the Bible with their fellow believers, which the security officials considered a threat to the security of society and the state (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Homes of Vladimir and Eduard were searched again, and the believers themselves were detained and later sent to a pre-trial detention center.

Tatyana and Olga spent 8 months in custody and in February 2020 were released from the detention center under the recognizance agreement. Vladimir and Eduard were imprisoned for almost a year—until the recent court verdict.

“Courts unreasonably send believers to prison. The sentence to four Jehovah's Witnesses from Novozybkov seems mild, but it is nevertheless an accusatory one. People spent many months behind bars on the basis of fictitious accusations,” Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, commented on the court's decision.