Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Unjust Verdicts

In Pskov, the Third Appeal Decision Reduced the Term of Imprisonment for Aleksey Khabarov in the Penal Colony by 2 Months

Pskov Region

On December 20, 2023, a panel of judges of the Pskov Regional Court, chaired by Dmitriy Kazantsev, slightly changed the sentence of Aleksey Khabarov: the fact that the believer handed a Bible to a woman was excluded from the verdict. Khabarov will serve his sentence of 2 years and 4 months in a penal colony.

In his appeal, Aleksey Khabarov stated: "I did not engage in extremist or other illegal activity. I lead a peaceful life, respect authority, and obey the law because I am a believer. The display of hatred, enmity and violence is incompatible with my views. I respect members of other religions and nationalities. I was convicted only for my faith in God."

The reputation of peaceful believers suffers due to the criminal prosecution. Aleksey Khabarov put it this way: "By their actions, the state authorities present me and my fellow believers in a bad light before society, contribute to the spread of prejudice and form the idea that Jehovah's Witnesses are a 'dangerous and dubious sect.' Such abusive, unlawful and grossly disproportionate actions cannot be justified in a democratic society."

At the moment, the believer is in pretrial detention center No.2 in the Pskov Region in the city of Velikiye Luki and later he will be transferred to a penal colony.

The Case of Khabarov in Porkhov

Case History
In 2019, the FSB initiated a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Porkhov. Law enforcement officers conducted searches and interrogated local believers. As a result, Aleksey Khabarov was charged with of extremism. During the court hearings, all witnesses, including the FSB counter-terrorism officer, described Khabarov positively. In September 2021, the court gave him a 3-year suspended sentence. The court of appeal overturned this decision, and in January 2022, a retrial of the case began in a court comprised of different judges. The prosecutor again requested 3.5 years in a penal colony for Khabarov, but the court acquitted him. In November 2022, the court of appeal again sent the case for a new – third – consideration in the same court. This time the believer was sentenced to 2.5 years in a penal colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom. In December 2023, the court of appeal slightly changed this decision, reducing the term by 2 months.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Pskov Region
Locality:
Porkhov
Suspected of:
"deliberately, in accordance with their religious beliefs and the goals of the Organization, pursuing the goal of spreading the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses in the territory of the city of Porkhov, Pskov region, organized, directed and participated in the activities of its structural unit "Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Porkhov".
Court case number:
11907580001000018
Initiated:
March 28, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Federal Security Service of Russia in the Pskov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-28/2023 (1-120/2022)
Court:
Порховский районный суд Псковской области
Judge:
Капустина Наталья
Case History