Dmitriy Barmakin and his wife Yelena. November 2021

Dmitriy Barmakin and his wife Yelena. November 2021

Dmitriy Barmakin and his wife Yelena. November 2021

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The Primorye Territory Court in Vladivostok Overturned the Harsh Sentence Against Dmitriy Barmakin, Sending the Case Back for Review

Primorye Territory

On August 8, 2023, the court of appeal overturned the verdict of 8 years imprisonment for 49-year-old Dmitriy Barmakin. The believer was released from the detention center under a recognizance agreement, and his case was sent for a new, already third, trial to the court of first instance.

When Dmitriy was arrested in 2018, he spent more than a year in a detention center, and then another 2 years under a ban on certain actions. As a result of the trial, the Pervorechenskiy District Court of Vladivostok acquitted the believer. Judge Stanislav Salnikov noted: “Rights related to freedom of religion must be ensured regardless of whether a person is a member of any religious organization or not, in connection with which the right to profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses must be ensured even after the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia dated April 20, 2017".

However, the prosecutor appealed this decision, and the court overturned the acquittal, sending the case back for a new trial. In April 2023, the court, comprising new members, sentenced Dmitriy Barmakin to 8 years in a penal colony. He was immediately taken into custody, and he again ended up in a detention center.

Dmitriy's wife, Yelena, is also being prosecuted under Art. 282.2 of the RF Criminal Code for her beliefs. The Pervorechenskiy Court of Vladivostok continues to consider the case against her and 9 other local believers.

In the first acquittal in the Barmakin case, the court noted that the believer “is subject to acquittal due to the absence of corpus delicti in the actions of the defendant” and “realized his right to freedom of religion enshrined in the Russian Constitution.” This decision was in line with the position of the European Court of Human Rights and the human rights community both in Russia and abroad.

The Case of Barmakin in Vladivostok

Case History
Dmitriy Barmakin moved to Vladivostok from Crimea to take care of his sick mother-in-law and her elderly mother. In July 2018, law enforcement officers in masks and with weapons broke into their house to search it. Dmitriy was arrested, and he spent 1.5 years in a pretrial detention center. The judge returned the criminal case to the prosecutor due to the ambiguity of the charges, stating in the ruling that freedom of religion is the constitutional right of Barmakin as any citizen of the Russian Federation. In April 2021, the case went to court again, and 7 months later, judge Stanislav Salnikov fully acquitted the believer. In April 2022, the regional court overturned this verdict and sent the case for a new trial. Barmakin was sentenced to 8 years in a penal colony. In August 2023, a court of appeal overturned this verdict also, released him and sent the case for a third trial to the court of first instance. This decision was appealed by the prosecutor, and the court of cassation sent the case to the court of appeal comprising a different panel of judges, which in February 2024 upheld the verdict — 8 years in a penal colony.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Primorye Territory
Locality:
Vladivostok
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, together with others, he conducted worship services, which is interpreted as "organizing the activities of an extremist organization" (with reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate all 396 registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802050005000051
Initiated:
July 27, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate for the Pervorechensky District of Vladivostok of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorsky Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-43/2023 (1-391/2022; 1-305/2021; 1-21/2020; 1-388/2019)
Court of First Instance:
Первореченский районный суд г. Владивостока
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Лариса Смоленкова
Case History