In the photo: Valery Krieger, Alam Aliyev, Dmitry Zagulin and Sergey Shulyarenko on the day of sentencing

In the photo: Valery Krieger, Alam Aliyev, Dmitry Zagulin and Sergey Shulyarenko on the day of sentencing

In the photo: Valery Krieger, Alam Aliyev, Dmitry Zagulin and Sergey Shulyarenko on the day of sentencing

Unjust Verdicts

Four Believers From Birobidzhan Received From 3.5 to 7 Years in Prison for Reading and Discussing the Bible

Jewish Autonomous Area

On December 19, 2022, Judge Yana Vladimirova of the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region rendered the following harsh sentences because of religion—Dmitriy Zagulin received 3.5 years in prison, Alam Aliyev recieved 6.5 years in prison, and Sergey Shulyarenko and Valeriy Kriger received 7 years in prison for supposedly organizing and financing extremist activity.

The investigation and trial lasted an unprecedented 4.5 years. The trial itself lasted over 2 years. The prosecutor requested that the believers be punished with 4 to 9 years in prison.

On May 17, 2018, a large-scale operation code-named "Judgment Day" was conducted by 150 security officials in Birobidzhan. During this raid, Alam Aliyev was detained. A criminal case was initiated against him because of his religion, and he spent 8 days in a pre-trial detention center. Later, three more believers were included in Aliyev's case.

Dmitriy Zagulin recalled: “After the searches that took place in our city, at first it was difficult to get used to the idea that we now live in a different reality.” On November 2021, Dmitriy was fired from his job because of the trial.

Sergey Shulyarenko talked about his family's reaction to the criminal case against him: "My relatives believe that the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is some kind of misunderstanding." He also noted that despite the persecution, believers "try to come to the courthouse in order to support each other, to assure those who have hearings on that day of their love."

Alam Aliev compared the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in modern Russia with their persecution in the Soviet Union. “If I am considered an extremist, then how many years will I have to wait to be rehabilitated?” the believer asked the court.

During the closing statement, Valeriy Kriger emphasized: “I am determined to continue to do good deeds and to display impartiality to all people, regardless of their nationality, social status and religious affiliation.”

Update. After the verdict was announced, the believers were taken into custody: they were handcuffed and taken in prison vans to a temporary detention center, where they are awaiting an appeal hearing.

In total, 23 Jehovah's Witnesses in the region have already been prosecuted for their beliefs. Among them are the wife of Alam Aliyev—Svetlana Monis;the wife of Valery Krieger—Nataliya Krieger; and the wife of Dmitriy Zagulin—Tatyana Zagulina.

In its judgment of June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights fully justified Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, stating: “The Court reiterates that only religious statements and actions involving or calling for violence, hatred or discrimination may warrant suppression as being 'extremist' […] The courts did not identify any word, deed or action by the applicants which would be motivated or tainted by violence, hatred or discrimination against others.” (§ 271).

The Case of Aliyev and Others in Birobidzhan

Case History
In May 2018, in the city of Birobidzhan a special FSB operation with the participation of 150 security officials, code-named "Judgement Day", took place. More than 20 families of Jehovah's Witnesses have become victims of criminal prosecution, including Alam Aliyev,Valeriy Kriger, Sergey Shulyarenko, and Dmitriy Zagulin. The believers were charged with holding meetings for worship, which the investigation deemed to be the organizing the activity of an extremist organization and financing it. They spent more than 5 months in pretrial detention. In November 2020, the case went to court. The hearings lasted more than 2 years, and in December 2022, the court sentenced Zagulin to 3 years and 6 months, Aliyev to 6 years and 6 months, and Shulyarenko and Kriger to 7 years in a penal colony. The court of appeal confirmed the terms of Zagulin and Aliyev, and reduced those of Shulyarenko and Krieger by 3 months. The court of cassation upheld the verdict in March 2024. The wives of three of the convicts were also prosecuted: Svetlana Monis, Tatyana Zagulina and Natalya Kriger. In September 2023, Sergey Shulyarenko's wedding took place in the penal colony.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he together with others conducted religious services, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11807990001000008
Initiated:
May 14, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
№ 1-8/2022 (1-65/2021; 1-609/2020)
Court:
Биробиджанский районный суд ЕАО
Judge:
Яна Владимирова
Case History