The Court of Appeal Left Unchanged the Verdict Against Four Believers From the City of Chekhov

On 20 July 2021, the Moscow regional court did not satisfy the appeal against the criminal case against Vitaliy Nikiforov, Konstantin Zherebtsov, Yuriy and Zinaida Krutyakov from the town of Chekhov. The court equated their peaceful discussion of the Bible with friends with extremism. The final punishment: to Yuriy Krutyakov - 6 years suspended with probation for 5 years; to Zinaida Krutyakova - 2 years and 3 months suspended with probation for 2 years, to Konstantin Zherebtsov - 2 years and 2 months suspended with probation for 2 years, to Vitaliy Nikiforov - 2 years suspended with the same probation period.

The verdict came into force. Believers still insist on their innocence. They have the right to appeal the verdict in cassation, as well as in international instances.

The first instance sentence was handed down on May 24, 2021. On that day, Judge Irina Pantela of the Chekhov City Court in Moscow Region sentenced the four local Jehovah's Witnesses to a suspended sentence as requested by the prosecutor.

Yuriy Krutyakov, a 69-year-old former civil engineer, came voluntarily to the Investigative Committee with no intention of hiding from the investigation. However, he was placed in a special unit for especially dangerous criminals. As his serious diseases began to progress, Yury repeatedly applied for proper medical examination and treatment, but the management of SIZO-7 ignored his requests. As a result, his eyesight sharply deteriorated.

Yuriy's wife, 63-year-old Zinaida, gave more than 30 years to the construction industry. Criminal prosecution for her faith also undermined her health and deprived the spouses of their livelihood. In addition, Aleksandr Serebryakov, Zinaida's son-in-law, has been under criminal prosecution since February 2021 and is in jail for his peaceful religious beliefs.

Vitaliy Nikiforov, a 53-year old combat veteran, served as an aircraft technician in the Russian Air Force and took part in an anti-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus. Now he has been convicted for his faith in God, thanks to which he got rid of his alcohol addiction.

Konstantin Zherebtsov, 47, worked hard for many years at various NPPs and other enterprises of the energy complex, has numerous certificates and letters of appreciation. Due to criminal prosecution, he lost the opportunity to financially support his wife and young daughter. He had heart problems which worsened against the background of stress.

Yuriy Krutyakov spent about a year and three months in jail. Konstantin Zherebtsov, Viktor Nikiforov, and Zinaida Krutyakov were sent to the temporary detention center after detention and then were under house arrest for a year and 8 months until sentencing.

On October 3, 2019, night searches took place in the houses of believers, which ended by 4-5 a.m. They were followed by many hours of interrogations in the Main Investigative Department of the Moscow region. After detention, believers were not fed for 36 hours.

The basis of the criminal case was the testimony of an FSB officer who portrayed interest in the Bible, a certain Stanislav Kuznetsky. Yuri Krutyakov met him at the train station. Kuznetsov often went to Krutyakov for biblical advice for the solution of family problems and asked about fellow believers. Later, Zherebtsov, Nikiforov, and Krutyakov noticed that they were being watched and their phones were tapped.

There were no victims in the case against the believers. Harmless actions such as reading and discussing the Bible and praying to Jehovah God were interpreted as evidence of the believers' guilt.

During the court hearings, the defense repeatedly emphasized: "All three are adherents of a peaceful religion ... They live by the principle 'love thy neighbor as thyself.

Russian and foreign figures and organizations, including the UN, OSCE, PACE, diplomatic missions, and heads of various states, unanimously condemn the the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the President of the Russian Federation has publicly expressed his bewilderment at their prosecution.

The essence of erroneous accusations of extremism against Jehovah's Witnesses comes down to the fact that they believe their religion is the only right one in the eyes of God.