Tomsk Region-Based Andrey Kolesnichenko, One of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Holding Bible-Based Discussions

On January 19, 2022, the judge of the Seversky City Court of the Tomsk Region, Yalchin Badalov, found 51-year-old Andrey Kolesnichenko guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced him to real imprisonment for a period of four years. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom.

The court also appointed Kolesnichenko an additional restriction of freedom for 1 year: after serving the term, the believer during this period will not be able to visit places of mass, sports, cultural and entertainment events and participate in them, change their place of residence and leave it at night.

"From the materials of the case and my testimony it is clear that I did not commit any crime. I peacefully and legally professed my faith in Jehovah God," Kolesnichenko said in an appeal to the court.

In July 2020, FSB officers detained this cabinet furniture maker right at his workplace, after which they searched his home. The case was opened in March 2021, 8 months after the search. The investigation was carried out for three months by the Investigation Department for Close Administrative-Territorial Unit Seversk, Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Tomsk Region.

Six months after the initiation of the criminal case, Kolesnichenko retired. Due to the need to constantly visit the Investigative Committee, he could not devote proper time to work. Throughout the investigation and trial, the believer was under house arrest.

Kolesnichenko's accusation was based on data obtained during the surveillance of the believer and the testimony of prosecution witness Kira Klisheva. The woman pretended to be interested in the Bible for about a year, made videos of the services from her home computer and handed them over to the FSB. Based on her testimony, charges were brought against at least five other Jehovah's Witnesses in Seversk: Aleksey Yershov, Andrey Ledyaykin, Yelena Saveliyeva, Sergey Belousov, and Yevgeniy Korotun. The latter is the brother of Kolesnichenko's wife.

On June 22, 2021, the Kolesnichenko case was received by the Severskiy City Court of the Tomsk Region and was considered there for 7 months. The prosecutor asked the court to sentence the native of Seversk to 5 years in a penal colony and 1 year of various restrictions. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed. The believer insists on his complete innocence.

In total, seven criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses were initiated in the Tomsk Region. Sergey Klimov, sentenced to 6 years in prison, has been serving his sentence since February 20, 2020. 80-year-old Yelena Saveliyeva received 4 years of probation. The court sentenced Aleksey Ershov to 3 years in a penal colony, and Yevgeniy Korotun—to seven years in prison. The cases of Andrey Ledyaykin and Sergey Belousov are still pending in court.

On October 28, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled that the divine services of Jehovah's Witnesses, their joint performance of rites and ceremonies, in themselves do not constitute a crime under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.