Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

New searches of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Kemerovo region. A 53-year-old believer was detained; the court will be deciding which restrictions to place on him

Kemerovo Region

On Sunday, February 14, 2021, at least six Jehovah's Witnesses were searched in the city of Belovo (Kemerovo region). Sergey Ananin, 53, was detained and taken to a temporary detention center.

Update. On February 16, 2021, the Central District Court of Kemerovo ruled to place Sergey Ananin under house arrest. The believer intends to appeal this decision. It is known that a criminal case was opened against him on February 9.

In the Kemerovo region this is already the fifth criminal case brought against Jehovah's Witnesses. The Beryozovsky city court sentenced miners Sergei Britvin and Vadim Levchuk to 4 years in a penal colony of the general regime, Hassan Kogut - to 2 years and 6 months of conditional imprisonment. Another case - against Sergei Yavushkin and Alexander Bondarchuk - is currently being heard in the Zavodsky District Court of Kemerovo.

Russian and foreign figures and organizations unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. They include the Russian Human Rights Ombudsman, the Presidential Human Rights Council, the Russian President, prominent Russian public figures, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that decisions of Russian courts to liquidate and ban Jehovah's Witnesses organizations "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not contain restrictions or bans on individual practice of the aforementioned doctrine.

The case of Ananin in Belovo

Case History
Sergey Ananin from Belovo was detained and placed in a temporary detention facility after a search of his home in February 2021. On that day, the security forces also came to his wife’s parents and several fellow believers. As it turned out, a peaceful believer became a defendant in a criminal case on extremism, which was initiated by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. After two days in custody, Ananin, who had recently suffered a heart attack and heart surgery, was placed under house arrest. This preventive measure deprived him of the opportunity to receive the full medical care necessary for recovery after surgery. In January 2022, the believer’s case went to court. The prosecution involved representatives of various churches, as well as a religious scholar, as witnesses. They did not know the defendant personally, and they had nothing bad to say about Jehovah’s Witnesses in general. In March 2023, the court sentenced Sergey Ananin to 6 years in prison, the sentence was left in force by the appelation and cassation.
Timeline

Persons in case

Ananin
Sergey

Criminal case

Region:
Kemerovo Region
Locality:
Belovo
Suspected of:
"deliberately organized the continuation of the activities of the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses ... by organizing the convening and holding of a meeting of the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses ... including through a program for organizing videoconferences, conducting conversations in order to promote the activities of this banned organization" (from the decision to bring as an accused)
Court case number:
12102320035000009
Initiated:
February 9, 2021
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
the second department for the investigation of especially important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Kemerovo Region - Kuzbass
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-71/2023 (1-395/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Беловский городской суд Кемеровской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Галина Прощенко
Case History