A Chuvashia Court Fined Three Witnesses of Jehovah for Talking About God

On February 10, 2022, Sergey Orlov, judge of the Kalininsky District Court of Cheboksary, found three local Jehovah's Witnesses guilty of extremism. Vladimir Dutkin was sentenced to a fine of 500,000 rubles, while Valeriy Yakovlev and Vladimir Chesnokov were fined 400,000 rubles.

The convicts have professed the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses since the early 1990s, but the authorities began persecuting them for their faith only in the fall of 2020, when the local FSB organized a wave of searches in Cheboksary and Novocheboksarsk. As indicated in the documents of the investigation, the believers “organized and held meetings of the religious group of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Cheboksary in specially rented premises” what the security forces considered the organization of the activities of an extremist organization (part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

For six months, the prosecution presented evidence to the court not of any crimes, incitement of religious hatred or propaganda of superiority on the part of believers, but that Dutkin, Yakovlev and Chesnokov were discussing the Bible with others. It is noteworthy that the printed materials and audio recordings considered by the court contained calls on believers to avoid nationalism and anger and to show love for others.

There are no victims in this case, but there are inconsistencies and violations. So, the secret witness "Ivanov" testified about the events that took place long before the period imputed to the fault. Also in the case file was a psycholinguistic examination carried out by the FSB officer Komleva, although according to the law an independent specialist was supposed to prepare it. In it, she gave, among other things, a religious assessment of the activities of believers, although she does not have a religious education.

The prosecutor asked to send the believers to a colony for terms ranging from 6 to 6.5 years, but the court limited itself to fines. Convicts consider the verdict illegal and can appeal against it.

During the criminal prosecution due to stress, the father of many children, Valeriy Yakovlev, worsened a chronic disease, pensioner Vladimir Chesnokov began to experience tachycardia attacks and shortness of breath at night. “One of the interrogations was particularly harsh and was accompanied by intimidation on the part of the investigator,” he said. Vladimir Dutkin, an insurance agent, was practically deprived of the opportunity to fully work and provide for his family, because the security forces confiscated all means of communication from him. The court also seized his car. Dutkin was under house arrest for more than a year, and Chesnokov and Yakovlev for more than 7 months.

Russian authorities have repeatedly assured that the Jehovah's Witnesses faith is not banned. As the Russian Supreme Court Plenum explained on October 28, 2021, worship by Jehovah's Witnesses does not by itself constitute an "extremist" crime, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.