For a Second Time Court of Appeal Overturned the Sentence of Andrey Sazonov, One of Jehovah's Witnesses From Uray And Sent The Case for a Third Trial

On January 11, 2024, the panel of judges of the Court of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra, chaired by Judge Lyudmila Blashkova, overturned the verdict against Andrey Sazonov and sent the case to the Uray City Court for a new trial with a new panel of judges.

In the winter of 2021, the Uray City Court found Andrey Sazonov guilty of organizing and financing the activity of an extremist organization and sentenced him to a fine of 450,000 rubles. The court deemed Sazonov's peaceful religious activity, as well as colleting funds to help his fellow believers, to be a crime. The verdict was appealed. The court of appeal overturned the verdict, sending the case for a new trial.

In a new appeal, the believer noted: "Religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses – this is the name of an international religion, which the RF Supreme Court did not ban."

He added that there was no corpus delicti in his religious actions: "All witnesses unanimously testified [in court] that they had never heard from me statements inciting religious hatred or enmity, and did not see any other signs of extremism. The forensic expert studies conducted in the case also did not establish the presence of signs of extremism in meetings for worship."

In addition to preliminary hearings and court hearings concerning his preventive measures, Andrey Sazonov has been going to court for more than 3.5 years. In the Uray City Court, his case has already been heard by two of the three judges working there with criminal cases. When announcing the appeal decision, the court did not explain why the believer's case was again sent for retrial.