What restrictions are faced by Jehovah's Witnesses prosecuted in Russia?

Overview

The unjust criminal prosecution creates many difficulties for believers, which go "unnoticed" by the majority of people. Often, difficulties begin even before sentencing and continue after the sentence has been served. This article explains what the various restrictions most frequently imposed on the believers mean.

What is detention?

It is the deprivation of liberty of a suspect or accused for up to 48 hours. It does not require a court ruling and is implemented by the decision of the investigator.

Detainees are held in a temporary detention facility (TDF), a special secure cell at the police station. As these facilities are not designed for long-term stay, the conditions in them are harsh. As a rule, out of the mandatory items they have only a table and places to sleep, which could be benches or bunkbeds.

If a court sentences a person to imprisonment in the future, the time of detention is counted toward his term time; it is calculated as follows: 1 day in a temporary detention facility is equal to 1.5 days in a penal colony.

Preventive Measures

What are preventive measures?

According to the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation (RF CrPC), these are coercive measures taken by an investigator or court to deprive the accused (and sometimes suspects) of the opportunity to hide from the investigation, obstruct it or continue the alleged criminal activity.

Preventive measures are not the same as punishment. Punishment is imposed only on the basis of a court verdict and begins to be executed only after the decision has entered into force. If a preventive measure has been imposed, it continues to be in place until then.

The Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation stipulates eight types of preventive measures. In the cases of Jehovah's Witnesses, the most common are:

• recognizance agreement,
• ban on certain actions,
• house arrest,
• pretrial detention.

When choosing a preventive measure, the investigator and the court must consider the character of the accused: is he dangerous, does he want to and can he abscond, threaten witnesses, or destroy evidence? How is he described at his place of work and residence? Does he have a family, a place to live, a job? What is the condition of his health?

What is a recognizance agreement?

A recognizance agreement is a written undertaking from the accused not to leave a certain locality without the permission of the investigator or the court and to appear promptly when summoned by them. Such a measure can be chosen by the investigator or the court, depending on the stage of the case.

What is a ban on certain actions?

When this measure is imposed, the court bans the accused from performing a number of actions, for example, using the Internet or telephone, communicating with certain people, leaving the place of residence at a certain time, etc. (a full list of possible prohibitions is listed in Article 105.1(6) RF CrPC). As under a recognizance agreement, he must appear promptly when summoned by the investigator or the court. The Penitentiary Inspectorate may use various means of monitoring the accused.

If there is a ban on leaving the home for a certain period, the court is obligated to set a time limit for applying such a ban, which may then be extended.

What is house arrest?

When house arrest is imposed, the court completely isolates the accused from society in a dwelling in which he has the right to reside legally. In the vast majority of cases, a person is forbidden to leave the house without the permission of the investigator or the court, even for a short time, to do shopping, visit a doctor and so on. This creates additional difficulties. For example, in the case of Andrey Vlasov, the judge unlawfully denied him visiting a doctor several times.

With house arrest, additional restrictions are always imposed, such as a ban on using means of communication and a ban on communicating with witnesses in the criminal case.

House arrest is imposed for up to 2 months, after which the court, as a rule, extends it several times. In some instances, believers were under house arrest for more than 1 year. Should the court subsequently impose a prison sentence, the time under house arrest is counted toward the term time under the rule 2 days of house arrest as 1 day in the penal colony. For example, if the accused was under house arrest for 1 year before the verdict, then his subsequent stay in the penal colony would be reduced by 6 months.

What is pretrial detention?

The strictest preventive measure is that the accused is deprived of liberty by a court decision and sent to a pretrial detention center. You can read about the terms of remand in custody in Article 109 of the RF CrPC.

Should the court subsequently impose a prison sentence, the time spent in pretrial detention is counted toward the term time under the rule 1 day of detention as 1.5 days in a penal colony.

What is a pretrial detention center?

In pretrial detention centers, the accused are kept in cells and live according to a certain arrangement; they are fed according to a schedule and they are taken out for a walk. People can spend many months there awaiting trial and during the trial itself. Those against whom a verdict has already been passed, but it has been appealed and has not yet entered into force, as well as those awaiting transfer to the place where they will serve their sentence, continue to be held in pretrial detention centers.

What is an undertaking to appear?

Sometimes the investigator does not impose a preventive measure on the accused but takes an undertaking from him to appear. By signing this document, a person promises the investigator or judge to appear promptly when summoned and to inform them immediately, if he changes his place of residence.

Punishment Measures

What is the primary and the additional punishment?

In most cases, believers are sentenced to two types of punishment: primary and additional. The primary punishment may be imprisonment (actual or suspended), forced or corrective labor, fine; additional punishment may be restriction of freedom or prohibition to engage in certain activity. The primary and additional punishments are served consecutively. Only in instances of a suspended sentence are both types of punishment served simultaneously.

To clarify, Alevtina Bagratyan was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment, which is the primary punishment. As additional punishment, the court sentenced her to a 3-year deprivation of the right to engage in activity related to posting materials on the Internet and a 6-month restriction of freedom.

The additional punishment is significant when deciding the early revocation of a suspended sentence and when counting the period of expungement of a record.

What is a fine?

The most lenient possible punishment in the cases of Jehovah's Witnesses. At the time of writing, the highest fine imposed on believers is 1,100,000 rubles, such fines were received by Aleksandr Vasichkin and Anatoliy Lyamo.

The fine must be paid within 60 days of the sentence entering into force. However, if the convicted person is not able to make a payment in full, the court, on his motion, may spread the payment by installments, up to 5 years .

What is a suspended sentence and a probationary period?

Convicted persons are also given prison sentences according to protocol but at the same time the court does not consider it necessary to isolate them from society. When a suspended sentence is given, a probationary period of 6 months to 5 years is always imposed. During this period, the convicted person must "prove his correction" by exemplary behavior.

If, during the probationary period, law enforcement agencies consider that the believer has committed any significant violations or if a new criminal case has been initiated against him, the court may revoke the suspended sentence and decide on the execution of the previously imposed punishment.

What is forced labor?

The court sentences the believer to imprisonment, but immediately replaces it with forced labor, since it recognizes that the person can change without being placed in a penal colony. The convicted person is placed in a dormitory-like correctional center (often on the penal colony's territory) and forbidden to leave during non-working hours. However, permission to leave can be given as an incentive for "good behavior". In their free time, convicted persons can use a shared kitchen, watch TV, etc. They work wherever the penitentiary system determines. From their salaries 5-20% are withheld. The exact amount of the deduction is determined in the judgment.

Forced labor is rarely imposed on Jehovah's Witnesses.

What is imprisonment?

This is the most severe punishment that the court can impose. It is served in penal colonies.

As of August 2024, of the 524 Jehovah's Witnesses who have been sentenced, more than 32% (172 people) have been sentenced to imprisonment. Most of them — more than 65% — received from 5 to 8.5 years. For comparison, according to the official statistics of the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of Russia for 2023:

• Out of 1,297 people convicted of intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm (Article 111(1) of the RFCrC), only 0.85% (11 people) were sentenced to terms ranging from 5 to 8 years. Most were sentenced to terms ranging from 2 to 3 years.

• Out of 1,267 people convicted of illegal production and sale of drugs (Article 228.1(1) of the RFCrC), only 1.74% (22 people) were sentenced to terms ranging from 5 to 8 years. Most were sentenced to terms ranging from 3 to 5 years.

It appears, from the point of view of the Russian judicial system, Jehovah's Witnesses are more dangerous than drug dealers or those who beat up people to the point of disability. At the same time, hundreds of trials against Jehovah's Witnesses accused of extremism have not confirmed a single fact of criminal activity on the part of the believers.

What is deprivation of the right to engage in certain activity?

An additional type of punishment imposed along with imprisonment (including suspended) or forced labor. Each time, the court itself formulates what kind of activity the believers are forbidden to engage in.

Most often, courts prohibit believers from engaging in activity related to directing or participating in the work of religious public organizations, as well as from posting materials on information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet.

When the sentence is suspended, this type of punishment and the primary punishment are carried out simultaneously. In other instances, this punishment begins only after the primary sentence has been served.

What is restriction of freedom?

An additional type of punishment imposed along with imprisonment (including suspended) or forced labor. Restriction of freedom always includes a ban on leaving the locality and changing the place of residence without the consent of the supervisory authorities. At the same time, the convicted person must regularly report to the penitentiary inspectorate -- up to four times a month. In addition, the court may prohibit leaving the dwelling at certain times of the day or visiting certain places and public events.

When the sentence is suspended, restriction of freedom and the primary punishment are carried out simultaneously. In other instances, restriction of freedom begins only after the primary sentence has been served.

Conditions of detention of convicted persons

What is a penal colony?

Penal colonies are designed to isolate convicted persons from society. There are four types: open, general, strict and special regime.

A penal colony is like a guarded town surrounded by a barbed wire fence: it has a residential and industrial area (where prisoners go to work), a canteen, a library, a bathhouse, a club, sometimes a temple or prayer room, and so forth. Prisoners can move about relatively freely. They live in dormitories-barracks, in which several dozen people can be held at the same time. There are separate penal colonies for male and female.

Within the same correctional colony, persons sentenced to imprisonment may be held in general, lenient or strict conditions for serving their sentences. A disciplinary commission can change the conditions of detention – simply put, to make life easier or more difficult for a prisoner.

The amount of money that can be spent on food and other items in the penal colony's shop, the number of short and long visits and parcels depend on the conditions of detention.

Most convicted Jehovah's Witnesses serve their sentences under general conditions. This means that they have access to 11,800 rubles monthly (as of August 2024) for the purchase of food and basic necessities, six short and four long visits per year, as well as six parcels or packages and six packages with printed material per year. When confinement conditions change, these allowances change accordingly.

Is a penal colony the same as a prison?

No. A prison is a different type of correctional facility, where convicted persons have much less freedom of movement. Conditions in prisons resemble those in pretrial detention centers. There prisoners are kept in cells, sometimes in solitary confinement. There are not many prisons in Russia compared to penal colonies. At the time of publication of this article, only one of Jehovah's Witnesses has been sent to prison — Viktor Stashevskiy.

What is a punishment cell?

This is a separate cell-type room within the penal colony, intended for the detention of violators of the internal regulations of the colony.

It is not uncommon for people convicted for their faith to be placed in a punishment cell simply for "disciplinary purposes" or for violations they did not commit. For example, Dennis Christensen was sent to a punishment cell for talking to other prisoners and for not wearing a jacket.

A prisoner in a punishment cell is severely restricted in his rights: there is no table and benches, during the day he is forbidden to sit on the bunk (sometimes he is not allowed to sit at all), visits, phone calls, receiving parcels and packages are prohibited. A daily one-hour walk is allowed.

According to the law, a person can be placed in a punishment cell for a maximum of 15 days. But the law does not specify how many times in a row it is permissible to apply this measure. It is not uncommon for believers to be held in such cells for months. After two terms a year in a punishment cell, the convicted person can be classed as a persistent offender. In such an instance, the prisoner's conditions of detention may be further tightened. Moreover, it becomes almost impossible to obtain parole as stipulated by law.

What are CTF and SCTF?

A cell-type facility (CTF) is a kind of "prison within a prison". Convicted persons who are classed as persistent violators of the internal regulations are placed there. They can stay in the CTF for up to 6 months and are assigned to work separately from other prisoners.

The SCTF, a single cell-type facility, is a separate institution for a whole region for the execution of this particular punishment. Unlike a CTF there is a whole complex of similar premises which operates according to its own rules.

Other Restrictions

What is the Rosfinmonitoring list?

A list of persons suspected or accused of extremism and terrorism, on whom a number of economic restrictions are imposed. This list is published by the Federal Financial Monitoring Service. The bank accounts of citizens added to this list are frozen; they are allowed to withdraw only about 10,000 rubles per month for each family member for everyday needs. If a larger amount is needed, a person has to go through tedious security checks. Due to restrictions, it is difficult, if not impossible, to sell or buy real estate and other property because such transfer of ownership requires government registration. It causes also problems with obtaining public and notary services, etc. People with poor health and pensioners are especially vulnerable, as they may face difficulties in paying for medical services and receiving social security.

Inclusion on the list is initiated by the investigator or the court. Removal from the list occurs only after the criminal record has expired or has been expunged, which takes years.

What is an electronic tracking bracelet? When and how is it used?

Electronic bracelets are designed to track the location of those who are serving a punishment in the form of restriction of freedom, are under house arrest or (in some instances) under a ban on certain actions.

This bracelet is worn on the ankle. It sends a signal to a control device (similar to a landline telephone) that is installed in the accused person's home. If a person moves too far away from this device, the system sends a signal about the violation to the monitoring authority.

Living with a bracelet all the time causes significant discomfort. The accused person must constantly make sure not only that the bracelet is working, but also whether the control device is sufficiently charged, and that there is an active signal between them. There are frequent technical failures in the operation of this system. Each such incident entails an investigation by the monitoring authorities, which tend to assume that it is not a technical failure, but a violation committed by the person, and therefore a punishment should be inflicted.

What is a criminal record?

Simply put, it is the official status of a citizen as a person convicted of a certain crime, like a "label". For many believers, this means financial restrictions due to being included on the Rosfinmonitoring list, the inability to find a job in some professions, and the risk of being declared repeat offenders if they are prosecuted again for practicing their faith.

The expiration of a criminal record (i.e. the removal of all restrictions and consequences associated with a criminal record) depends on the sentence imposed. If it is a fine, it is 1 year from the date of its full payment; if it is a suspended sentence, it is the end of the probation period. For those who have served a sentence in a penal colony, the removal of the criminal record occurs 8 years after serving the main and additional sentences.

The convicted person may apply to the court for early expungement of the criminal record.

What is administrative supervision?

After release from the penal colony, believers are placed under administrative supervision. From the point of view of the law, this measure is not considered a punishment, but it almost completely coincides with the restriction of freedom. For example, the court may prohibit leaving the house at certain hours, visiting certain places, changing the place of residence, and so forth.

The implementation of the imposed restrictions is monitored by the internal affairs body (police) at the place of residence. The court may impose administrative supervision for up to 8 years after release from the penal colony.