[{"body":"Andrey Vlasov, a disabled person of group II, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for his Christian beliefs. Neither his state of health, nor lengthy litigation in various instances helped him to achieve mitigation of his sentence. He is still serving his sentence in conditions that make his life almost unbearable.\nIn May 2022, Andrey was taken into custody and placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he seriously suffered from pneumonia. In October of the same year, he was sent to a penal colony. There, in just 7 months, his condition deteriorated markedly: arthrosis of the shoulder and knee joints of the second degree progressed to the third degree. He was later diagnosed with tuberculosis. In the spring of 2023, Vlasov was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. A medical examination conducted in April 2024 confirmed another serious disease of the musculoskeletal system: ankylosis of the hip joint.\nThe defense had a pack of medical documents confirming his condition, including the conclusion of a neurosurgeon, according to which Vlasov suffers from another extremely serious disease — absolute spinal stenosis, which requires surgery according to the specialist. The surgeon states that if an operation is not performed, it can lead to complete paralysis of the limbs and a spinal cord stroke.\nVlasov spoke in detail about his daily difficulties and how his condition deteriorated during his imprisonment, at the hearing for his appeal against the Pervomayskiy District Court of Novosibirsk ruling of August 3, 2023, which denied his motion to be released due to illness. He cannot raise his arms or wash his hair and can hardly put on underwear, due to the stiffness of his joints and constant pain.\nAndrey cannot walk without a cane or crutch, as he has already fallen several times, and he cannot get up on his own. Also, he cannot carry objects from one place to another, for example, groceries from the store or a tray with food in the dining room. Ordinary everyday activities cause severe pain, which sometimes prevents him from sleeping.\nThe court of appeal did not take into account the evidence showing that the believer cannot take care of himself and needs constant help and medical care. Also, the court did not pay attention to serious errors in the results of two medical commissions, which even concluded that the convicted person did not have any diseases specified in the List of Diseases.\nAndrey Vlasov is not the only Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness with a disability who is being prosecuted in today's Russia for their faith in God. This and other similar cases demonstrate the indifference of the judicial system to the suffering of convicted persons and a gross violation of human rights.\n","category":"prison","date":"2024-10-15T13:12:33+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/10/151312/image_hu_16bab60b6f37efc9.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/10/151312/image_hu_3b370e2a2bf335fd.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/10/151312/image_hu_afbde4d034dceb25.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/10/151312/image_hu_af93a2ae4551f8b1.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/10/151312.html","regions":["kemerovo"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["mitigation","prison-treatment","parole","disability","health-risk"],"title":"Andrey Vlasov Remains in Penal Colony Despite his Progressive Serious Illness. Why?","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 4, 2024, the Primorye Regional Court considered the prosecutor\u0026#39;s appeal for mitigation of the sentences of four of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Luchegorsk. The judicial board amended the verdict, reducing the suspended sentences by a month for each of the convicts. The decision came into force.\nIn the court of first instance, the prosecutor requested real terms: six years for Yuriy Ponomarenko and Oleg Sergeyev, two years and six months for Andrey Lyakhov, two years for Nikolay Dikhtyar, but the judge sentenced the believers to suspended terms: Yuriy Ponomarenko received six years and six months, Oleg Sergeyev — six years and four months, Andrey Lyakhov — two years and eight months, Nikolay Dikhtyar — two years and six months.\nProsecutor S.E. Mekesheva pointed out that the court of first instance had incorrectly applied the aggravating circumstance of \u0026quot;committing a crime as part of an organized group.\u0026quot; Since this circumstance is already provided for in the article of conviction and cannot be considered again when imposing punishment, the prosecutor requested to mitigate the sentence of the first instance.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2024-07-04T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/07/311346/image_hu_232065f1971ca888.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/07/311346/image_hu_c60567085afa1c3d.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/07/311346/image_hu_3edb90aedcc107c9.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/07/311346/image_hu_cb429dd3ed46730b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/07/311346.html","regions":["primorye"],"subtitle":"The Term for Each of Them Reduced by a Month","tags":["appeal","mitigation","suspended","282.2-1","282.2-2","elderly"],"title":"At the Request of the Prosecutor, the Primorye Regional Court Commuted the Sentences of Four Believers from Luchegorsk.","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 19, 2023, the Amur Regional Court released 71-year-old Vladimir Balabkin from custody. The court reclassified his actions from Part 1 (organizing extremist activity) to Part 2 (participating in such) of Article 282.2 of the RFCrC and imposed a 1-year suspended sentence. Before that he had spent 96 days in a pretrial detention center.\nA panel of three judges chaired by Natalya Trofimova considered an appeal against the verdict of the court of first instance, which found Vladimir Balabkin guilty under Article 282.2(1) of the RFCrC. The more lenient second part of the same article allowed for the actions of the believer to be reclassified and for him to be released from custody in the courtroom. His sentence is suspended.\nThree months earlier, Natalya Kramar, judge of the Belogorsk City Court of first instance, sentenced the elderly believer who has a hearing impairment and a serious stomach issue to 4 years in a penal colony. Immediately after the verdict was announced, Vladimir was arrested in the courtroom, and before the appeal he was in pretrial detention center No.1 in the Amur Region.\nThe believer disagreed with the guilty verdict, found many violations in it and appealed. He drew attention to the fact that it was impossible to establish from the verdict on what basis the court considered the usual worship of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses as a continuation of the activity of an extremist organization. According to the explanation of the Supreme Court practicing the religion of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses is allowed in Russia.\nBalabkin also stressed that the verdict was passed in violation of international law: \u0026quot;For example, the court did not apply the provisions of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, according to which everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes ... freedom to practice one\u0026#39;s religion and belief, either individually or jointly with others and in public or private.\u0026quot;\nIn the Amur Region, 13 of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses have already received from 6 to 8 years in a penal colony for participating in meetings for worship.\n","category":"other","date":"2023-12-19T10:48:27+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/12/191048/image_hu_ac93c6b585167c32.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/12/191048/image_hu_6a5861ff4da712b1.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/12/191048/image_hu_7b873cf695a45bec.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/12/191048/image_hu_18af86dbdb58e5a4.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/12/191048.html","regions":["amur"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","elderly","282.2-2","suspended","mitigation"],"title":"Court of Appeal in Blagoveshchensk Mitigated the Punishment for Pensioner Vladimir Balabkin and Released Him from Custody","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 30, 2023, the judicial chamber of the Yaroslavl Regional Court commuted the sentences of Petr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin, giving them a suspended sentence of 2.5 years instead of 6.5 years. For the Kuznetsov couple, the suspended sentence of 2.5 years remained the same.\nThe reason for commuting the sentence of Filiznov and Vyushin was the fact that the court reclassified the charge from Article 282.2(1) of the RF CrC to Аrticle 282.2(2) of the RF CrC. Now th believers are found guilty of participating in the activity of an extremist organization, and not of organizing such activity. The court considered Bible discussions and prayers, including by videoconference, a crime. The verdict has entered into force, but believers can appeal it in cassation procedure.\nThe defendants' appeal stated: \"In this criminal case, during the trial, the court could see that the actions and statements of the convicted persons ... are exclusively peaceful and do not indicate the presence of hatred or enmity. [...] None of the actions listed in this article (of the Criminal Code) was committed by any of the convicted persons in this criminal case. All witnesses for the prosecution questioned during the trial confirmed this.\"\nSpeaking about the expert study, which formed the basis of the charges, the defense stated that \"the expert's conclusions only allowed for the identification of the peculiarities of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and, based on this, to establish the religious affiliation of the convicted persons.\" The defense also drew attention to the fact that \"the court in effect imposes a ban on practicing faith or religion, which violates basic constitutional and international human rights\" and that \"the law does not recognize the dissemination and practice, including together with fellow believers, of the religion to which the liquidated religious associations belonged, as a sign of extremism.\"\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-10-30T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/11/030827/image_hu_45f7e09f90fb1f89.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/11/030827/image_hu_d5a1bd0bb42cf044.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/11/030827/image_hu_f257d31b5eb03256.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/11/030827/image_hu_4e66a127ed4d5939.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/11/030827.html","regions":["yaroslavl"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","282.2-2","mitigation"],"title":"Court of Appeal in Yaroslavl Reduced the Suspended Sentence of Petr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin by 4 Years","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 27, 2023, the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction upheld the verdict and the appeal ruling against Aleksandr Nikolayev, a resident of Kholmskaya – 2.5 years in a penal colony. However, the court canceled the additional restriction of freedom following the main term imposed on the convicted person.\nOn December 23, 2021, the Abinskiy District Court of the Krasnodar Territory found the believer guilty of participating in the activity of an extremist organization for peacefully practicing the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses and sentenced him to 2.5 years in a penal colony. The court of appeal upheld this decision.\nIn the cassation appeal, the defense drew attention to significant violations of the norms of the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes which influenced the outcome of the case. Thus, no evidence was presented in court that the convicted person had committed any unlawful acts or that his behavior was of a socially dangerous nature. In addition, there is no evidence whatsoever that Aleksandr Nikolayev had the intent to commit a crime or a motive to incite hatred or enmity, while exercising his right to freedom of religion.\nDue to religious persecution, Aleksandr has been separated from his family and behind bars since September 2021. His release from the penal colony is planned for the end of September 2023.\nAleksandr Nikolayev participated in the cassation court hearing via videoconference from the penal colony. July 2023 Yevgeniya, Aleksandr Nikolayev\u0026#39;s wife, travelled to Krasnodar to hear the court\u0026#39;s decision in her husband\u0026#39;s case. July 2023 According to Aleksandr, friends and other caring people help him to stay positive: “Because of our difficulties, fellow believers began to write to us from all over the world and sent parcels. One woman from America sent vitamins.”\nRussian human rights activists and the global community condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, and criminal prosecution for their faith has been declared as unlawful by the ECHR.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-07-27T09:17:43+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/08/040917/image_hu_4deaede350013373.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/08/040917/image_hu_6e791317ce039db.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/08/040917/image_hu_7530fbb57601fa21.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/08/040917/image_hu_37b72823b47440b4.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/08/040917.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["cassation","mitigation"],"title":"Court of Cassation in the Krasnodar Territory Left One of Jehovah's Witnesses Aleksandr Nikolayev Behind Bars","type":"news"},{"body":"The verdict against Denis Merkulov, one of Jehovah's Witnesses from Apatity, entered into force on July 18, 2023 by the appeal decision of the Murmansk Regional Court. However, the court reduced the fine – the believer will pay 400,000 rubles instead of 500,000 rubles for the peacefully practicing his faith.\nIn the appeal proceedings, prosecutor Pavel Zhilinkov had sought a tougher sentence, but the judicial panel agreed with the position of the lower court, which had imposed a fine on the believer. Merkulov was found guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization because he peacefully discussed the Bible amongst friends and conducted meetings for worship. The believer considers the court decision a violation of his right to freedom of religion.\nIn the Murmansk Region, six of Jehovah's Witnesses have already received heavy fines simply for not giving up their beliefs and continuing to practice their religion peacefully. Law enforcement officers in this region, as well as throughout Russia, continue the campaign of prosecuting peaceful citizens for their faith, despite condemnation from the global community.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-07-18T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/07/190941/image_hu_b8fc9816f36f5783.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/07/190941/image_hu_f633c6e0d1a734b.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/07/190941/image_hu_ad5172f97c34e6bb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/07/190941/image_hu_b5e51d8cb8f85f28.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/07/190941.html","regions":["murmansk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["282","282.2-1","appeal","fine","mitigation"],"title":"Court of Appeal in Murmansk Upheld the Guilty Verdict but Reduced the Fine for Denis Merkulov","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 3, 2023, the Primorye Territory Court reduced the terms of punishment by 2 months for residents of Spassk-Dalniy convicted for their faith. Three believers will go to a penal colony: Dmitriy Malevaniy for 6 years and 10 months, Aleksey Trofimov for 6 years and 4 months and Olga Panyuta for 4 years and 4 months. The suspended sentence for Olga Opaleva will be 4 years and 10 months.\nThree months earlier, Pavel Bobrovich, judge of the Spassky District Court of the Primorye Territory, found these believers guilty of extremism for meeting together to discuss the Bible. In their appeal against the verdict, they pointed to significant violations of the RF Constitution and an erroneous approach to the consideration of the case. For example, the court of first instance came to the conclusion that believers did not have the right to worship together, but only individually. This position contradicts the statement of the Plenum of the RF Supreme Court.\nTo find a person guilty of extremism, the prosecution must establish and prove a motive of hatred or enmity. Neither this nor any other specific extremist actions by the defendants are found in the case materials.\nThe defendants emphasize that their activity have nothing to do with crime. “Showing hatred, enmity and violence is incompatible with my views. I respect people of other religions and nationalities. They convicted me just for my faith in God, which is a violation of the norms of Russian and international law,” 71-year-old Olga Opaleva said in court.\nThe convicted persons have the right to appeal the appeal decision in cassation procedure. Dmitriy Malevaniy, 33, Aleksey Trofimov, 64, and Olga Panyuta, 63, remain in custody and are awaiting transfer to a penal colony.\nThe criminal prosecution of the believers from Spassk-Dalniy began in November 2018. As in many other cases — with searches. Afterwards, the believers were sent to a temporary detention facility, and then placed under house arrest for almost a year. The day before the search, Olga Opaleva suffered a heart attack, and a year later, a stroke.\nIn total, 51 Jehovah's Witnesses have already faced prosecution for their faith in the Primorye Territory and are defendants in 21 criminal cases. Suspended sentences have already been given to 21 believers, including Vitaliy Ilinykh, the son of Olga Opaleva.\nAccording to the decision of the RF Supreme Court, the letter of the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the decision of the Plenum of the RF Supreme Court, the participation of believers in peaceful worship should not be considered a crime, after the liquidation of legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-05-24T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/05/250915/image_hu_12ffa3c369c85b39.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/05/250915/image_hu_8e327720b0409140.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/05/250915/image_hu_8485c9fb84e9965a.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/05/250915/image_hu_6340f459ff22e72c.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/05/250915.html","regions":["primorye"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","liberty-deprivation","suspended","282.2-1","282.2-1.1","mitigation","elderly"],"title":"Primorye Territory Court Insignificantly Reduced Harsh Terms of Imprisonment of Jehovah's Witnesses Convicted of Extremism","type":"news"},{"body":"Aleksandr Parkov participates in the court hearing via videoconference to consider the petition for replacement of imprisonment with correctional labor, since he has already served more than 1/3 of the term.\nThe colony provides a positive characterization of the believer, but indicates that the replacement is inappropriate. The court refuses to satisfy the request.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Avanesovs and Others in Rostov-on-Don","date":"2023-04-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/rostov-on-don7/index.html#20230425","regions":["rostov"],"tags":["mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On March 23, 2023, Lyudmila Salikova reappeared before the Chelyabinsk Regional Court, which changed her sentence, reclassifying the charge from organizing the activities of an extremist organization to participating in it, and reduced her suspended sentence to two and a half years with a probationary term of three years.\nLyudmila Salikova from Snezhinsk has been prosecuted for her faith since the fall of 2020. She was taken to court for \"participating in the religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses and having discussions about the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses.\" These actions, according to the investigation, constituted organizing the activities of an extremist organization. In January 2022, Lyudmila Salikova was convicted and given a six-year suspended sentence, and the appellate court upheld this decision.\nThe believer does not admit her guilt and considers the criminal prosecution a miscarriage of justice. The court of cassation did not reverse the guilty verdict, but it did note that the appellate court \"avoided an objective, fair and comprehensive review of the legality and validity of the verdict.\" According to the cassation court, “an improper assessment by the appellate court of the arguments of the appeal may affect the correct application of criminal law . . . and, as a result, the sentence.” In January 2023, the case was returned to the appellate stage.\nRepresentatives of the Russian and foreign public unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. In particular, David Bunikovsky, a visiting scholar of the School of Theology at East Finland University and a fellow at the Center for Law and Religion at the Cardiff School of Law and Politics called the persecution of believers inhumane and in opposition to human dignity. “It is contrary to international law (Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 28), which guarantee freedom of religion, and it is contrary to common sense. Even the elderly are put in prison. For what? For singing songs, studying the Bible and praying together in private homes,” said Bunikowski.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-03-23T13:58:44+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/03/231358/image_hu_b2320b7f4dbc1615.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/03/231358/image_hu_95eebeaab248975a.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/03/231358/image_hu_66e9b22f8a749ff2.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/03/231358/image_hu_cb2d4ed81569c43f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/03/231358.html","regions":["chelyabinsk"],"subtitle":"The Court Reduced the Believer's Suspended Sentence From Six to Two and a Half Year","tags":["282.2-1","appeal","suspended","elderly","mitigation"],"title":"A Second Appeal in the City of Chelyabinsk Shortened the Sentence of 71-Year-Old Lyudmila Salikova.","type":"news"},{"body":"On March 1, 2023, the Khabarovsk Territorial Court reduced Yegor Baranov's suspended sentenceby six months—now the believer will have to serve a four-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for talking about the Bible. The decision has entered into force. It can be appealed in the cassation procedure.\nThe basis of the accusations of extremism was the testimonies of witnesses, which either totally or partially did not correspond to reality. Other witnesses were subjected to psychological pressure. Also, during the investigation, the facts were falsified more than once. While considering evidence of Baranov's guilt in court, passages from the Bible were read on how to build relationships with others, how to strengthen the family and how to show respect for the authorities.\nThe ruling of the ECHR dated June 7, 2022, which fully justified Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, states that “the right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under the Convention excludes any discretion on the part of the State to determine whether religious beliefs or the means used to express such beliefs are legitimate”.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-03-01T17:18:15+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/03/021718/image_hu_4741e84f4530512b.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/03/021718/image_hu_c3871dab31f28785.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/03/021718/image_hu_91f33ba23343cb2e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/03/021718/image_hu_8aa266bd1f81a1b6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/03/021718.html","regions":["khabarovsk"],"subtitle":"The Believer Was Given a Four-and-a-Half-Year Suspended Sentence\u003cbr\u003e","tags":["mitigation","appeal","282.2-2","282.2-1.1","suspended"],"title":"An Appeal in Khabarovsk Reduced Yegor Baranov's Term by Six Months.","type":"news"},{"body":"On March 1, 2023, the Stavropol Regional Court changed Viktor Zimovskiy's 6-year and 2-month prison sentence to a suspended sentence; he was released from the detention center. Instead of 4 years and 2 months of forced labor, Anatoliy Gezik received a suspended sentence. The sentence for his wife, Irina Gezik, - 4 years and 2 months suspended - remained unchanged.\nThe court of first instance announced the verdict against three Jehovah's Witnesses from Georgievsk in November 2022. They were found guilty of organizing and participating in extremist activity for meeting with their fellow believers for joint worship and Bible reading. When filing an appeal against the verdict, they drew the court's attention to the absence of evidence of an actual crime in their actions. So, Viktor Zimovskiy was convicted only because he “gave talks, read religious literature, organized religious services for followers of the teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses.” “These actions,” as noted in the appeal, “are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation as the fundamental rights and freedoms of a person that belong to him from birth.”\nIn 2019, the homes of the Gezik couple and Viktor Zimovskiy were searched, when, according to believers, the security forces planted flash drives of unknown content. During the search, Viktor Zimovskiy, who is disabled, fell ill. Nevertheless, he and ten other people were taken for interrogation. The investigator arrested Viktor after a second interrogation in January 2020. He spent 2 months in a detention center, and then another 1.5 months under house arrest. After the verdict was passed, Zimovskiy was again placed in the detention center, where he spent 3.5 months.\nAccording to Viktor Zimovskiy, during the criminal prosecution, it was especially hard to be separated from his children and his pregnant wife. And the difficult conditions of detention did not contribute to his optimism. However, as Viktor says, difficulties are easier to endure, thanks to the support of friends: “I was calm... that my family had everything they needed and were surrounded by care.”\nRussian courts continue to ignore the position of the European Court of Justice, which, in a judgment dated June 7, 2022, stated: “By holding [Jehovah’s Witnesses] criminally liable simply for continuing religious services, the Russian authorities imposed a disproportionate and unjustifiable burden on the exercise of their freedom of religion and association” (§ 260).\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-03-01T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/03/080818/image_hu_a69bbd1ef11e6899.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/03/080818/image_hu_394994ceaeccf0f8.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/03/080818/image_hu_e0e85dce53ec0947.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/03/080818/image_hu_6a68ed1a78e6b75.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/03/080818.html","regions":["stavropol"],"subtitle":"In The Stavropol Region, the Court of Appeal Changed the Sentence of the Gezik Couple and Viktor Zimovskiy","tags":["282.2-1","282.2-2","suspended","appeal","mitigation"],"title":"Suspended Sentences Instead of a Penal Colony and Forced Labor.","type":"news"},{"body":"Text updated on February 14, 2023.\nOn February 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic upheld the verdict of four Jehovah's Witnesses from Alatyr, mitigating the sentence for two of them. Instead of fines of 350,000 rubles, Nina Martynova and Zoya Pavlova will pay 80,000 rubles each. The 6-year suspended sentences for Andrey Martynov and Mikhail Yermakov were left unchanged by the court.\nAll four have been peacefully practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses since the 1990s. However, in December 2022, in violation of the constitutional right to freely choose, have and disseminate religious beliefs, the Alatyr District Court declared them guilty of extremism.\nThe believers commented on this in their appeal as follows: “We have not denied that we are Jehovah's Witnesses and that together with our loved ones and friends we sang songs praising God, prayed and discussed the Bible. But our goal was not to continue the activity of a liquidated legal entity, but to carry out peaceful worship of God.” They added: \"The actual purpose of the verdict is to force us, under fear of criminal prosecution, to change our religion or leave the Russian Federation.\" The believers can appeal to the court of cassation.\nMikhail Yermakov named examples of the endurance of repressed fellow believers during the Soviet era as a source of support. “Even the investigator was sometimes surprised at my calmness and sense of humor,” the believer said.\nThe European Court of Human Rights held that the Russian Federation violated the right of Jehovah's Witnesses to freedom of religion: “By holding the applicants criminally liable, simply for continuing religious services, the Russian authorities imposed a disproportionate and unjustifiable burden on the exercise of their freedom of religion and association” (§ 260).\n","category":"verdict","date":"2023-02-13T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/02/141019/image_hu_97c6d044e1c723e8.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/02/141019/image_hu_937aea6dd55dd871.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/02/141019/image_hu_2e6d0513a5b836cb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/02/141019/image_hu_a49bb556fadda011.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/02/141019.html","regions":["chuvashia"],"subtitle":"Large Fines and Lengthy Suspended Sentences Given for Reading the Bible","tags":["appeal","suspended","fine","mitigation","282.2-1.1","282.2-1","282.2-2"],"title":"Court of Appeal in Cheboksary Upheld the Verdict for Four Believers.","type":"news"},{"body":"On January 11, 2023, the Supreme Court of Russia considered the cassation appeal of Jehovah's Witnesses against the guilty verdict in the extremism case handed down on November 30, 2020, in Omsk and granted the part related to revising the sentence served by Sergey Polyakov.\nMore than two years ago, the Pervomaisky District Court of the city of Omsk sentenced Polyakov to three years in a general regime penal colony, and three women were given a suspended sentence: Anastasiya Polyakova—two and a half years; Gaukhar Bektemirova—two years and three months; Dinara Dyusekeyeva—two years. In May 2021, the appellate court upheld the verdict, and a year later this decision was upheld by the Eighth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in the city of Kemerovo. In November 2022, Sergey Polyakov was released after serving his full term in a penal colony.\nHowever, the believer should have been released forty five days earlier than he actually was. The courts considered the period of Polyakov's detention under house arrest, equating one day of house arrest to a half day of detention in a penal colony. But this law was not adopted in Russia until after 2018, that is, after the date when, according to the investigation and the court, Sergey Polyakov committed the crime. In his case, one day of house arrest should have been equated to one day in a penal colony.\nThe Supreme Court of the Russian Federation granted part of Sergey Polyakov's appeal related to the revision of the term of his sentence, and now he has the right to monetary compensation, which he can already claim in a civil procedure.\nThe believers also asked the Supreme Court to cancel the verdict of the court of first instance as well as the appellate ruling of the judicial panel and to transfer the criminal case for a new trial. They still plead not guilty, arguing that they exercised their constitutional right to freedom of conscience and religion and that their actions were exclusively peaceful.\nThe cassation complaint mentions a number of violations discovered during the hearings in the court of first instance (the disappearance of physical evidence and the lack of measures taken to search for it, as well as the court’s refusal to add to the criminal case evidence that confirms the use of violence against Polyakov during the search and the planting of prohibited religious literature by security forces in places of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.). During the first instance court hearings, the prosecution did not cite a single statement by Polyakov aimed at inciting religious hatred, nor did it provide any evidence to support such statements. These arguments were not taking into account by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.\nOn June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights fully acquitted Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and ruled that Russia stop persecuting them for their faith. Although Russia ceased to be a member of the Council of Europe in March 2022, in terms of international law, it is obliged to comply with the decisions of the ECHR issued before September 16, 2022.\n","category":"trial","date":"2023-01-11T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/01/120938/image_hu_83718e2fadfa28bf.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/01/120938/image_hu_92e1080e8e65c47c.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/01/120938/image_hu_9b8b537ecac0b043.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/01/120938/image_hu_67379a35ea58be22.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/01/120938.html","regions":["omsk"],"subtitle":"One of Them Has Already Served a Full Prison Term for His Faith","tags":["supreme-court","282.2-1","282.2-2","mitigation","complaints","282.3-1"],"title":"The Supreme Court of Russia Partially Granted the Appeal of Four of Jehovah's Witnesses From Omsk.","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 27, 2022, the Judicial Chamber of the Amur Regional Court overturned the verdict against Vladimir Bukin, Valeriy Slashchev, Mikhail Burkov and Sergey Yuferov and returned their case for a new trial. The men were released and signed recognizance agreements.\nTwo months earlier, the Tyndinskiy District Court sentenced Bukin, Slashchev and Yuferov to 6.5 years in a penal colony, and Burkov to 6 years and 2 months. Following the announcement of the verdict, all four believers were waiting for the appeal decision in the detention center.\nWhile in custody, Vladimir Bukin fell ill, but thanks to the timely delivery of medicines, he quickly recovered. Mikhail Burkov also developed health problems, and the small cold cell, where everyone except him smoked, adversely affected his condition. However, the attitude towards the believers from other prisoners was good, and they also were able to receive letters of support.\nIn their appeals, all four referred to the decision of the European Court, which defended Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. According to that decision, the accusations of incitement to religious hatred are contrived: “The Court considers that the applicants [Jehovah’s Witnesses] were prosecuted for conduct that equates to exercising their right to freedom of religion in community with others” (§ 268). “Therefore, we still have the right to freely practice the religion of our choice, including reading the Bible and discussing it with others, praying to God, singing songs of praise to God and talking to other people about our faith,” the defendants mentioned in their appeals.\nThe four residents of Tynda hope for a fair retrial of their case and an acquittal. In the Amur Region, seven of Jehovah's Witnesses have already been convicted for their faith and sentenced to various prison terms.\n","category":"trial","date":"2022-12-27T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/12/281057/image_hu_847010bb975adaf9.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/12/281057/image_hu_b467064ddf1a4b38.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/12/281057/image_hu_64f2b02bfde58f72.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/12/281057/image_hu_8dbdf45782480e40.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/12/281057.html","regions":["amur"],"subtitle":"The Case Was Sent for Retrial, and the Believers Were Released","tags":["appeal","282.2-1","282.2-1.1","recognizance-agreement","mitigation"],"title":"In Blagoveshchensk, the Court of Appeal Overturned the Harsh Sentences of Four Jehovah's Witnesses from the Town of Tynda.","type":"news"},{"body":"Text updated February 24, 2023\nOn December 22, 2022, the Fourth General Jurisdiction Court of Cassation, presided over by Judge Rustem Asanov, insignificantly reduced the sentence on believers Rustam Diarov, Sergey Klikunov and Yevgeniy Ivanov, sentenced to 8 years in a penal colony, and Olga Ivanova (wife of Yevgeniy), sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony. Now, after serving their sentence, they will be able to choose a settlement for residence, but they will be banned from leaving it. Previously, they were forbidden to leave Astrakhan.\nThe rest of the verdict was left unchanged, and the cassation appeals were not satisfied. The state prosecutor requested to toughen the punishment, and only verbally, without stating this in written objections to the cassation appeal. The session of the Court of Cassation was held via video-conferencing. Believers participated in the hearings while in the colonies.\nIn fact, the court found Astrakhan residents guilty of extremism because they believe in Jehovah God. In itself, being part of the international canonical structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, including believers organized in different groups all over the world, which the Russian Supreme Court had not assessed or declared extremist, does not constitute a crime.\nIn his cassation appeal Yevgeniy Ivanov stressed the absurdity of the charges against him: \"The verdict and the appeal decision do not contain any extremist statements, especially those aimed at inciting enmity and hatred.\" His lawyer also noted: \"Yevgeniy was found guilty of a crime against the foundations of the state and state security, although Jehovah's Witnesses are politically neutral, and he is not a socially dangerous person.\" \"All the witnesses questioned in the case indicated that there were no signs of extremism in my words, actions and motives,\" added Sergey Klikunov.\nA recent decision of the European Court states that \"believers demonstrate their desire to adhere strictly to the teachings of the religion they profess, and their right to do so is guaranteed by Article 9 of the European Convention\" (§ 172).\n","category":"verdict","date":"2022-12-22T09:24:24+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/12/230924/image_hu_3c0d4534896a0783.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/12/230924/image_hu_180b1fd5d4a480c.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/12/230924/image_hu_dbbc13defc9f7b38.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/12/230924/image_hu_95f5a617465a94f1.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/12/230924.html","regions":["astrakhan"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["cassation","mitigation","282.2-1","282.2-2","liberty-deprivation","families","282.3-1"],"title":"The Court of Cassation Slightly Softened the Brutal Conviction of Four Jehovah's Witnesses From Astrakhan","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 10, 2022, the Vologda Regional Court reviewed the sentence imposed on Nikolay Stepanov for conducting religious meetings. Four years in a penal colony were replaced with a suspended sentence. Another person involved in the case is Yuriy Baranov. His 4-year suspended sentence remains unchanged.\nIn December 2019, when a massive raid of the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Vologda was conducted, Stepanov and Baranov became targets of criminal prosecution. On September 5, 2022, the court of first instance issued a guilty verdict, which the believers appealed.\nDuring the preliminary investigation, Nikolay Stepanov spent 8 months in a detention center. After the verdict of the court of first instance was announced, the believer was again placed in detention, where he participated in the appeal hearings via video conference. According to Nikolay's lawyer, for some time the peaceful believer was held in custody together with criminal gang leaders and with a man who is on trial for murder. Stepanov should be released soon.\nUpdate. Later that day, Nikolay Stepanov was released from detention. His family and friends were waiting for him outside. Stepanov Nikolay with his wife Alla Stepanov Nikolay with his wife Alla, son Vyacheslav and friends against the background of SIZO-2 in Vologda after their release on November 10, 2022 Yuriy Baranov spent 3 months under house arrest. Now that he has a suspended sentence, he is under a recognizance agreement.\nYaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, commented on the situation: “Despite the seemingly lenient sentence imposed by the court of appeal, the believers were still found guilty of extremism, even though they did not commit any crimes. They simply did what the early Christians did—they discussed the Holy Scriptures and prayed together. The verdict has entered into force, but Nikolay and Yuriy have the right to appeal it in cassation and international courts.”\n","category":"verdict","date":"2022-11-10T16:36:09+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/11/101636/image_hu_e2a501c2de4aed3e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/11/101636/image_hu_d7f11eb823573bda.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/11/101636/image_hu_d42a1083c897747.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/11/101636/image_hu_c2902b0d708bdb5f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/11/101636.html","regions":["vologda"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","mitigation","suspended","282.2-1","elderly"],"title":"An Appeal in the Vologda Region Resulted in a More Lenient Sentence for One of the Convicted Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 5, 2022, the Stavropol Regional Court, chaired by Judge Andrey Shever, partially granted the appeal and commuted the sentence, replacing Konstantin Samsonov with 7.5 years in prison for a fine. The believer is expected to be released on August 8.\nAccording to preliminary information the court also partially satisfied the prosecutor's appeal, increasing the amount of fines for other defendants in the case—Aleksandr Akopov and Shamil Sultanov. Taking into account the period of detention in a pre-trial detention center, all three believers were fined, payable: Sultanov and Akopov—250,000 rubles each, and Samsonov—400,000 rubles.\nUpdate. It became known that the court imposed a fine of 1,400,000 rubles on Konstantin Samsonov and 1,000,000 rubles on Aleksandr Akopov and Shamil Sultanov. However, given the long period pre-trial detention, the punishment was reduced to fines of 400,000 rubles for Samsonov and 250,000 rubles each for Akopov and Sultanov. On April 19, 2022, the judge of the Neftekumskiy District Court Maksim Mazikin considered the conversations of three believers about God to be extremism. Of these, Konstantin Samsonov, the leading systems engineer at the Neftekumsk Central District Hospital, received the most severe sentence for his faith.\nThe process was held with violations, the prosecution did not provide evidence of crimes on the part of believers, as witnesses the prosecutor involved repeatedly convicted persons, including those who did not know the defendants, and the secret prosecution witness “Agafonov” admitted that the believers did not cause any harm to him or anyone or otherwise.\nAddressing the court at the appeal hearing, Samsonov emphasized that extremism was alien to him. He added: “I not only implemented federal programs for the digitalization of healthcare, but also participated in subbotniks to improve the city, did not lead an immoral lifestyle, raised a responsible son . . . I myself chose the Christian path. This is not extremism!”\nSamsonov, Akopov and Sultanov spent a year behind bars. Due to the imposed restrictions for more than two years, they were forced to wear special sensors that record their movements.\nOn June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled to end the persecution of Russian Jehovah's Witnesses on religious grounds and to release all believers illegally imprisoned.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2022-08-05T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/08/081523/image_hu_79894e1a49e6621d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/08/081523/image_hu_22c9692d5c34cc9c.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/08/081523/image_hu_7c0dabacaa65c43a.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/08/081523/image_hu_79946088556ad6ce.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/08/081523.html","regions":["stavropol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","282.2-1","282.3-1","fine","mitigation","secret-witness"],"title":"Appeal in Stavropol Replaced Seven and a Half Years in Prison for Konstantin Samsonov With a Fine","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 14, 2022, a panel of judges of the Tomsk Regional Court mitigated the sentence of one of Jehovah's Witnesses, Andrey Ledyaykin, 33, replacing the sentence of 2 years and 2 months in prison with a suspended sentence of the same term.\nIn July 2020, FSB and Investigative Committee officers, accompanied by two OMON fighters, arrived at Andrey Ledyaikin’s place of work, the administration of Seversk, to pick him up for a search of his home. After the Seversk Investigative Department opened a criminal case against Ledyaykin in March 2021, he was forced to resign. Rosfinmonitoring has included a peaceful believer in the list of extremists and terrorists.\nOn April 26, 2022, the judge of the Seversky City Court of the Tomsk Region, Yekaterina Soldatenko, sentenced Andrey Ledyaykin to 2 years and 2 months in prison with serving a sentence in a penal colony, although there were no victims and evidence of harm to the state and society in the case. Since then, Andrey has been held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Tomsk region.\nThe believer still insists on his innocence and can appeal the decisions of the courts in cassation, as well as in international instances.\nThe courts of the Tomsk region have already sentenced 6 Jehovah's Witnesses for their faith, including an 80-year-old woman. On June 7, 2022, the ECHR declared illegal the liquidation of the administrative center and another 395 legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, which law enforcement agencies take as a basis for criminal prosecution, although not a single Russian court has banned the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2022-07-14T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/07/151002/image_hu_b81b0c60af66b3f5.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/07/151002/image_hu_cf37f85fee169b8f.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/07/151002/image_hu_9144d6c9218ba2a3.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/07/151002/image_hu_618618e67c723e23.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/07/151002.html","regions":["tomsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["282.2-2","appeal","mitigation","suspended","liberty-deprivation","work-restrictions","rosfinmonitoring"],"title":"An Appeal in Seversk Replaced the Prison Term of Andrey Ledyaykin With a Suspended Sentence","type":"news"},{"body":"The panel of judges of the Tomsk Regional Court, chaired by Andrey Kaplyuk, appoints Andrey Kolesnichenko 4 years of suspended sentence instead of real imprisonment.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Kolesnichenko in Seversk","date":"2022-06-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/seversk4/index.html#20220630","regions":["tomsk"],"tags":["appeal","suspended","mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On June 30, 2022, the Tomsk Regional Court, chaired by Judge Andrey Kaplyuk, mitigated the sentence imposed by the court of first instance and replaced Andrey Kolesnichenko, 52, having changed four years in a penal colony for four years of probation.\nThe hearing was held via video-conferencing, as Kolesnichenko is in the pre-trial detention center in the city of Kolpashevo, which is more than 300 kilometers from Seversk. After the decision of the Court of Appeal, the believer was released. The verdict has entered into force. Kolesnichenko has the right to appeal against it in the cassation procedure.\nIn January 2022, Andrey Kolesnichenko was found guilty by the judge of the Severskiy City Court of the Tomsk Region, Yalchin Badalov. He considered proven the believer's guilt in participating in the activities of an extremist community (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The sentence turned out to be somewhat milder than the prosecutor requested—5 years in prison. The believer was taken into custody.\nOn the same day, the judge of the Severskiy City Court, Svetlana Chebotareva, found guilty and sent to a colony for 7 years the brother of Andrey's wife, Yevgeniy Korotun.\nThe criminal prosecution of both Andrey Kolesnichenko and Yevgeniy Korotun began with searches that took place in July 2020. The Investigative Committee for the Tomsk Region opened a criminal case against Korotun, from which 8 months later he separated the case of Kolesnichenko into a separate proceeding.\nOn December 17, 2021, the 35 member countries of the International Religious Freedom Alliance issued a joint statement in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. The statement calls for the immediate release of all prisoners and an end to torture, violence, searches and other forms of discrimination against this denomination.\n","category":"trial","date":"2022-06-30T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/07/011108/image_hu_be64779a29383cfc.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/07/011108/image_hu_b1e7f28203b9a5bf.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/07/011108/image_hu_d63719bd84f1d135.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/07/011108/image_hu_f1f4d150e7921ffc.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/07/011108.html","regions":["tomsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","mitigation","282.2-2","liberty-deprivation","families"],"title":"Tomsk Regional Court Replaced Seversk-Based Andrey Kolesnichenko's Four-Year Prison Sentence With a Suspended Sentence","type":"news"},{"body":"The Supreme Court of the Republic of Khakassia does not satisfy the prosecutor's appeal against the court's decision of February 22, 2022. The believer receives parole. Valentina Baranovskaya is released.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20220504","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["release","life-in-prison","mitigation","elderly"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The panel of judges of the Tomsk Regional Court, chaired by Andrey Kaplyuk, replaces the sentence of Aleksey Ershov from Seversk with a 3-year suspended sentence.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Ershov in Seversk","date":"2022-04-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/seversk3/index.html#20220407","regions":["tomsk"],"tags":["appeal","mitigation","suspended"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Obluchensky District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region is considering Anastasia Sycheva's petition to cancel her suspended sentence and remove her criminal record.\nThe representative of the penitentiary inspectorate notes that Anastasia has proven herself on the positive side, she did not commit violations of public order. Assistant Prosecutor K. Ehrlich also speaks in favor of granting the request.\nTaking into account these facts, as well as the fact that Anastasia has served more than half of the probationary period, Judge Natalia Streltsova cancels the suspended sentence and removes the conviction from the believer. This means that after the entry into force of the ruling, all legal consequences associated with a criminal record will be annulled: the believer will be considered unconvicted.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Sycheva in Obluchye","date":"2022-03-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/birobidzhan3/index.html#20220301","regions":["jewish"],"tags":["mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Judge of the Ust-Abakan District Court Maria Zablotskaya satisfies Valentina Baranovskaya's petition for parole. This decision was opposed by the prosecutor and the administration of Correctional Colony No. 28, arguing that Valentina \"did not repent\" because she did not stop professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Within 10 days, the prosecutor's office may appeal the court decision. The elderly woman has been behind bars for a year.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2022-02-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20220222","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["life-in-prison","mitigation","release","elderly"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Ust-Abakan District Court denies Valentina Baranovskaya early release from the colony.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2021-10-18T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20211018","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["mitigation","elderly"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On October 18, 2021, the Ust-Abakan District Court of the Republic of Khakassia refused to release 70-year-old Valentina Baranovskaya, convicted of her faith, from the colony. The assigned term of imprisonment for the believer expires in January 2023.\nIn June 2021, Valentina filed a petition for release from serving her sentence on the basis of Article 81 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation \"Release from punishment due to illness.\" Baranovskaya's defense provided the court with a medical report confirming the diagnosis.\nBack in the summer of 2020, Valentina was diagnosed with cerebral infarction. Despite this, after the verdict was passed, the woman was placed in the Detention Center No. 1 of Abakan, where she spent about four months.\nThe elderly believer's lawyer appealed to various authorities to draw attention to the situation of the sick woman in the remand prison.\nIn June 2021, Valentina was transferred to a colony to serve a 2-year sentence. After additional examinations, she was prescribed the necessary medications. “The attending physician visited Valentina in the colony and issued his opinion. The administration of the colony agreed with him, they give her everything that is prescribed, they treat her every day. The therapist and the head of the medical unit treat her well. The treatment is good for her,” the lawyer told the believer.\nMeanwhile, Valentina's son Roman Baranovskiy is in correctional colony No. 3 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Trans-Baikal Territory, where he will have to spend about 5 and a half more years just because he did not give up his faith in Jehovah God.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-10-18T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_8e65ea830d23305d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2.jpg","webp":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_bd25408061f40e20.webp","webp2x":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_1dd92405d6c2c02a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/10/201540.html","regions":["khakassia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["mitigation","elderly","families"],"title":"The Court Refused to Early Release 70-year-old Valentina Baranovskaya From the Colony, Despite Her Serious Illness","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 27, 2021, the judge of the Leninskiy District Court of Ufa, Oksana Ilalova, found Anatoliy Vilitkevich guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced him to 2 years of suspended imprisonment with a probationary period of 3 years and restriction of liberty for 6 months for his faith in Jehovah God.\nThe verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed. The believer insists on his complete innocence.\nAlthough there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence Vilitkevich to 7 years in a general regime colony. Passing the verdict, the judge reclassified the charge from Part 1 (organizing the activities of an extremist organization) to Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and appointed Anatoly a punishment not related to imprisonment.\nMaster of finishing works Anatoliy Vilitkevich became one of the first to be imprisoned because of his faith after the decision of the Supreme Court to liquidate legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of the activities of an extremist organization) was initiated against Anatoliy on April 11, 2018. A day earlier, mass searches took place in Ufa and its environs, after which Vilitkevich was detained. Taking the believer away, the security officials told his wife, Alyona, that she would not see him for a long time, and advised him to “look for a new husband”. Before these events, hidden video filming was carried out in the apartment of the spouses for six months.\nVilitkevich spent 2.5 months in a pre-trial detention center and almost 9 months under house arrest. For the last two and a half years, he was under recognizance agreement. In October 2020, the case went to court.\nMany contradictions were found in the materials of the criminal case. Thus, the sheets of the case provided to the defense side differed from those used by the prosecutor. At one of the hearings, the prosecution witness denied that he had ever met the defendant, although this was mentioned in the testimony he signed. Another witness, referring to a bad memory, was unable to explain the contradictions in his testimony. Vilitkevich, speaking with the last word, reminded the court that during the trial the prosecution witnesses had repeatedly confused the defendant with his lawyer. All prosecution witnesses who knew Anatoliy personally characterized him as an honest, peaceful citizen.\nAnatoliy Vilitkevich's lawyer drew the court's attention to the dubious nature of the religious examination. Its author, expert Marina Bignova, regularly “represents the Russian Orthodox Church” at public events and also criticizes Jehovah's Witnesses there.\nDuring the trial, the court studied records of home worship, during which Jehovah's Witnesses discussed how to help fellow believers, see good in people, regularly read the Bible, and praise children. The state prosecution considered such actions to be a threat to the security of society and the state.\nIn his appeal to the court, Vilitkevich emphasized: “In fact, the evidence that was collected and presented by the investigator suggests that I am Jehovah's Witness, that I met with fellow believers to watch videos of divine services, sang songs with them, prayed to Jehovah God and discussed his beliefs. However, do all these actions constitute a crime under the article presented to me? No!\"\nAlyona Vilitkevich was one of the wives of the arrested Jehovah's Witnesses who sent an open letter to the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation. In this letter, the spouses of believers wrote: “In exchange for freedom and a quiet life, we are offered to renounce our faith. This is not a figure of speech — the investigators in the literal sense of the word propose to sign the paper in order to avoid punishment for ‘extremism’! Otherwise, according to them, no lawyers will help us. But we cannot stop believing in God. This is a right that every person has from the moment of his birth. The Russian Federation is a multi-confessional state, and we, as citizens of Russia, have the right to count on the state's respect and protection of our rights. We are not asking for any special privileges. We ask only one thing — please protect our rights. \"\nCommenting on the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Alexandr Verkhovskiy, a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, noted: “According to the Constitution, people in Russia can collectively practice their faith. Faith cannot be forbidden. But as soon as Jehovah's Witnesses do this in practice — and this can be qualified as a congregation of a prohibited organization, article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. The technique is not unique, but the scale is unique: in the post-Soviet period, criminal cases against any other group did not multiply at such a speed. We see that the mechanics of anti-extremist policies lead to a fundamental and large-scale undermining of one of the key freedoms—- freedom of conscience. \"\n","category":"verdict","date":"2021-09-27T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/09/280834/image_hu_e814eff3fa1bc41c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/09/280834/image_hu_3f23e03d00e5306e.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/09/280834/image_hu_dd3b3347aa40f79e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/09/280834/image_hu_920ad16c07c2041c.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/09/280834.html","regions":["bashkortostan"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["sentence","mitigation","sizo","house-arrest","recognizance-agreement"],"title":"The Court in Bashkiriya Sentenced Anatoliy Vilitkevich to Two Years of Conditional Sentence for Discussing the Bible With Friends","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 2, 2021, the Amur Regional Court satisfied the believers' appeal only partially: 34-year-old Dmitriy Golik’s sentense was reduced by 10 months, and the sentence to 45-year-old Alexey Berchuk — 8 years in a general regime colony — was left unchanged.\nThe court excluded from the sentence to Dmitriy Golik the charge of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization, leaving the charge of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The believer was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 6 years and 2 months, followed by restriction of freedom for 1 year and 2 months. The rest of the decision of the first instance court was left unchanged. The verdict entered into force. Berchuk and Golik still insist on their innocence. They have the right to appeal against the verdict in cassation procedure, as well as in international instances.\nOn June 30, 2021, Tatyana Studilko, judge of the Blagoveshchensk City Court of the Amur Region, handed down a record cruel sentence to Berchuk and Golik — 8 and 7 years in prison — for discussing Bible teachings with friends. This is the exact timeframe the prosecutor requested for believers.\nIn his youth, Dmitriy Golik already had to defend his peaceful Christian convictions: he did alternative civilian service instead of military, working as a nurse in a nursing home. Now the believer defended his good name in court, since the authorities ranked him as an extremist only because of his faith in Jehovah God.\nIn January 2019, Alexey Berchuk was detained at a Moscow airport while going through passport control. During the arrest, all his money was taken away, so Alexey was very worried about his wife, since she was left without a livelihood.\nThe court of first instance considered the case of Berchuk and Golik for over a year. All this time they were supported by co-religionists — they wrote letters and provided practical assistance. For example, they provided housing to the Berchuk family free of charge when they urgently needed it.\nBelievers, despite persecution, try to notice the positive moments in their lives. Although they were deprived of the opportunity to leave their place of residence without the permission of the investigator, in the summer of 2019, with his consent, they were able to go on a short vacation. Aleksey Berchuk also told how one day, being in a cell, he asked a police officer to bring him “to read something encouraging”. Refusing at the beginning, he nevertheless brought the Psalter and the New Testament.\nAfter Dmitry and Alexei were convicted, Golik's wife, Christina, and 3 other religious women became involved in a new criminal case. By the end of August 2021, 20 Jehovah's Witnesses had already been prosecuted for their faith in the Amur Region. Four of them, including Berchuk and Golik, were convicted.\nDmitriy Golik in the court of first instance explained the groundlessness of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia: “At certain periods, God's servants were sometimes called heretics, sometimes misanthropists, or enemies of the state. Today they use a new term — \"extremist\". They interpret it rather vaguely. But the goal is one — to silence these ministers, to stop talking about God. The purpose of this criminal prosecution is to silence me, to scare others, so that they would stop practicing their faith, as they professed it before. \"\n“The verdict against Berchuk and Golik is an example of the unscrupulousness and inhumanity of some judges. They ruin lives by imprisoning those who in many countries are held up as examples of good citizens,— Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, commented on the court’s decision.— Most accusations: for reading the Bible and talking with others about God. In 1991, the state recognized that the Witnesses were peaceful people, and that what happened to them was ideological repression. The believers were rehabilitated, they were paid compensation. The Russian authorities still claim that the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited. The judges in Blagoveshchensk put themselves and the entire state in a stupid position. \"\nThe Memorial Human Rights Center expressed its opinion on the persecution of believers in Russia: “We consider the declaration of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist and unfounded, violating the rights to freedom of conscience and association, and the criminal prosecution of followers of this peaceful belief is illegal and discriminatory.” Human rights activists demand an end to the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses based on their religious affiliation.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2021-09-03T08:28:55+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/09/030828/image_hu_38f1ad5e11417f4c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/09/030828/image_hu_e9bd58874822658b.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/09/030828/image_hu_2825ac3882d9af05.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/09/030828/image_hu_e6253b8c2d69eba8.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/09/030828.html","regions":["amur"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","liberty-deprivation","mitigation","282.2-1"],"title":"An Appeal in Blagoveshchensk Upholds a Record Harsh Sentence to Alexey Berchuk and Reduces the Prison Term for Dmitriy Golik","type":"news"},{"body":"The court softens the measure of restraint for Sergey Kretov and Yevgeny Reshetnikov. Believers are transferred to house arrest until September 15, 2021 after 241 days in a pre-trial detention center and allowed daily hour-long walks.\nThe court extends Valeriy Khmil's detention under house arrest until October 15, 2021 and allows him daily two-hour walks.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Reshetnikov and Others in Gryazi","date":"2021-07-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/gryazi/index.html#20210715","regions":["lipetsk"],"tags":["house-arrest","sizo","mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On June 24, 2021, the judge of the Krasnodar Regional Court, Vadim Kuksa, did not satisfy the appeal of Aleksandr Shcherbina, but softened the sentence: the believer will spend not 3, but 2 years in a general regime colony. Aleksandr insists on his innocence and has the right to appeal the verdict on appeal.\nOn April 29, 2020, a search was carried out in Aleksandr's house, after which he was interrogated as a witness in the Ivshin case. And in November of the same year, O. I. Komissarov, an investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Krasnodar Territory, opened a criminal case against Shcherbina himself, accusing him of extremism for meeting with fellow believers and discussing the Bible. On December 2, 2020, a preventive measure was chosen for the believer in the form of a recognizance not to leave, and on April 6, 2021, the judge of the Abinsk District Court of the Krasnodar Territory, Sergey Mikhin, sentenced him to 3 years in a general regime colony. Immediately after the announcement of the verdict, Aleksandr was taken into custody and later sent to colony No. 9 in the city of Khadyzhensk.\nAleksandr Shcherbina was actually accused of using the right guaranteed to every citizen of the Russian Federation — Article 28 of the Constitution. All his activities were exclusively religious in nature, but the court equated Aleksandr with dangerous criminals — extremists.\nA few months earlier, 2 more civilians of the village of Kholmskaya were sentenced for \"extremism\": 63-year-old Aleksandr Ivshin — for 7.5 years, and 47-year-old Oleg Danilov — for 3 years in prison. In total, 16 believers are being prosecuted in the region.\nRussian and foreign leaders and organizations unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Among them is Heiner Bielefeldt, professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In his interview, he said the following: “If we talk about legislation on extremism, everyone agrees that it is important to fight extremist tendencies, but the concept of 'extremism' remains completely blurred, which creates a kind of access for the authorities, a loophole, an excuse to do what they do. want. And Jehovah's Witnesses are the perfect scapegoat. \"\n","category":"verdict","date":"2021-06-24T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/06/250940/image_hu_6f0c73795c4b049f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/06/250940/image_hu_532d5b7b5d6af8ba.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/06/250940/image_hu_380362a9ed103499.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/06/250940/image_hu_58b8ec087e7b4fc9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/06/250940.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","liberty-deprivation","mitigation","282.2-2"],"title":"Аppeal in Krasnodar Mitigated the Sentence for Faith to Aleksandr Shcherbina, but He Will Still Go to Jail for 2 Years","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 26, 2021, the Kostroma Regional Court, having considered the appeal of the Rayman spouses, canceled the longest suspended sentence for faith - 8 and 7 years. Earlier, a lower court found Sergey and Valeriya guilty of organizing and participating in extremist activities.\nThe Court of Appeal excluded the \"organization\" from the charges against both believers (part 1 of Art. 282.2) and commuted Sergey's and Valeriya’s sentences to 3 and 2 years of suspended imprisonment respectively.\nThe verdict came into force. Believers still insist on their innocence. They have the right to appeal the verdict in cassation, as well as in international instances.\nOn October 9, 2020, Dmitriy Balayev, judge of the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma, sentenced Jehovah's Witnesses Sergey and Valeriya Rayman to 8 and 7 years of suspended sentenced, respectively. With the filing of the state prosecutor Ivan Bogomolov, the court found the believers guilty of both organizing and participating in extremist activities (parts 1 and 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The state prosecution asked the court to give them a suspended sentence of 7 years of imprisonment for both.\nThe couple have been married since 2015. Sergey is an interior decoration specialist, and in his free time he is engaged in cooking and video filming. Valeriya is a makeup artist and hairdresser who loves to bake and make interior items from concrete.\n“The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses has not been prohibited by any court,” Valeriya told the Court of Appeal in her last word. “I led the ordinary life of a believer. My life, my beliefs and views have nothing to do with extremism. I have not committed any crime. I ask you to look at this situation from the point of view of common sense and give us back our good name. \"\n“We live in a state governed by the rule of law,” Sergey Rayman said in his last word. “Not so long ago, even Human Rights Day was celebrated. And according to Article 28 of the Constitution, I have the right to have religious beliefs, disseminate and act in accordance with them. \"\nSergey Rayman was placed in a cramped solitary confinement cell for 2 months with a ban on correspondence and reading the Bible because of the map of ancient Palestine it contains. He then spent a month under house arrest with an electronic tracking bracelet on his leg and 90 days under a ban on certain actions. Valeria had to spend 2 days in the temporary detention facility and 179 days under the ban on certain actions. The spouses could not communicate with each other for some time because of the court decision.\nThe pursuit of the Ryman spouses began in the early morning of July 25, 2018, when armed special forces used crowbars to smash the door to their apartment at gunpoint. Law enforcement officers accompanied their actions with caustic comments regarding the religion of believers. Friends who came to the Rayman spouses found the apartment empty with signs of a burglary on the door. Sergey and Valeria were sent to a temporary detention center.\nIn September 2019, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma returned the Rayman criminal case to the Kostroma prosecutor's office. At the same time, the court emphasized that in the case of spouses \"there is a legal right to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has not been prohibited.\" The court pointed to the \"vague\" wording of the indictment. Neither in the materials of the criminal case, nor in the register of legal entities, nor in any other documents, there was no confirmation that the young people were founders or members of a local religious organization in Kostroma. The accusation is unfounded in relation to the fact that the Rayman couple held meetings of a religious organization. At the same time, not a single name of the participants in such meetings is given.\nThe Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma is hearing the case of another local believer, Dmitriy Terebilov.\nRussian and foreign leaders and organizations unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The conclusion of the state religious expert examination on the doctrine and the corresponding practice of the religious association of Jehovah's Witnesses says: spreading faith, violates the rights of other citizens. On February 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Jehovah's Witnesses have the right to practice their religion both individually and collectively.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2021-02-26T20:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/02/18/image_hu_507117618ca38aae.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/02/18/image_hu_b06ec1ed7eb2d65b.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/02/18/image_hu_bdab805b3f54039a.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/02/18/image_hu_f552189b192a30e4.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/02/18.html","regions":["kostroma"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","mitigation","282.2-1.1","282.2-2","suspended","families"],"title":"A Kostroma appeals court commuted Sergey and Valeriya Rayman's strict sentence","type":"news"},{"body":"Court hearings on replacing Gennady German's unserved part of the sentence with a fine were postponed to January 18, 2021.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-17T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201217","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Ulyanovsk Regional Court, having considered the appeal against the refusal to replace the unserved part of the sentence to Konstantin Bazhenov with a fine, confirms the decision of the previous court, the believer will remain in the colony for the time being. Bazhenov's court-appointed prison term expires in June 2021.\nOn the same day, the administration of the Orenburg colony No. 1 transferred Gennady German and Roman Gridasov to a detachment with more difficult conditions of detention.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201216","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Central District Court of Orenburg refuses to satisfy the petition of the defense of Alexei Miretsky to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a fine. This decision will be appealed because Aleksey meets the necessary requirements for release. Despite the exemplary behavior of the believer, the administration of the colony does not apply incentives to him, which the court usually takes into account in favor of the prisoner. Alexei also has job guarantees in case of release.\nMeanwhile, the believer's health is deteriorating in prison - problems with the musculoskeletal system have worsened.\nIt will be possible to file another petition for mitigation of punishment for Aleksey Miretskiy no earlier than six months, two months before the expiration of his imprisonment in the colony.\nCourt hearings on a similar petition against Alexei Budenchuk are postponed indefinitely.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-15T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201215","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The Central District Court of Orenburg refuses to replace Roman Gridasov's unserved part of his sentence with a fine. The defense considers the court's decision unfounded and intends to appeal it. The right to re-apply for mitigation of punishment for a believer will appear no earlier than six months later, at the end of June 2021, that is, two months before the end of the term of Roman Gridasov's imprisonment in a colony appointed by the court.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-10T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201210","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Saratov residents Alexey Budenchuk and Alexey Miretsky, convicted for their faith, have served more than half their sentence. The defense petitioned for their early release and replacement of the part of the sentence that had not been served with a fine. The lawyer and wives of the believers told what happened to the convicts while they are waiting for trial.\nIn September 2019, 44-year-old candidate of economic sciences Alexei Miretsky and 38-year-old handyman, father of two children Alexei Budenchuk, along with four other Saratov residents were convicted for reading the Bible and communicating with fellow believers. After arriving at the colony in February 2020, the believers were beaten by guards, after this they were sent to a punishment center for several days on unfounded charges. By September 2020, both believers had served more than half of their sentences: Alexey Budenchuk - 34 months out of 42 court-ordered, and Alexey Miretsky - about 14 months out of 24. In September 2020, a petition for mitigation of the believers' punishment was filed.\nIn the penal colony Budenchuk and Miretsky are forced to work from morning to evening in sewing production. Stress, hard work and conditions in the colony have led to an intensification of chronic diseases.\nIn February 2020, the prisoners' spouses managed to get a short visit from their husbands. According to Yulia Miretskaya, after the beating her husband's health deteriorated and the question of surgical intervention arose, but it was postponed for now. \"On the whole, she feels better and smiles. Life is slowly getting better,\" says Yulia.\nAccording to Tatyana Budenchuk, Alexey assured her that he would cope with everything and asked not to worry too much for him. \"But I am worried anyway,\" Tatyana said.\nShortly before Aleksey was sent to the colony, the Budenchuk family's house was completely burned down, Tatyana and the children miraculously survived, having managed to take only documents with them. Friends and fellow believers helped to build new modest housing for the family. In addition, Tatiana and the children had been ill with COVID-19.\n\"Miretsky and Budenchuk take part in various sports and cultural events in the colony, including table tennis and soccer tournaments. The actions for which the believers were convicted have nothing to do with the use of violence against anyone, which is confirmed by the verdict. Thus, there are all grounds for early release by replacing the part of the sentence that has not been served with a fine,\" says the petition submitted to the court.\nThe Central District Court of Orenburg should consider the issue of mitigation of Miretsky and Budenchuk's sentence. The trial was scheduled for November 6, 2020, but it was postponed.\nIn March 2020, the European Union and several countries sharply condemned religious persecution in Russia and the mistreatment of Jehovah's Witnesses from Saratov.\n","category":"prison","date":"2020-11-04T16:51:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/11/2/image_hu_6c092430b7414ab8.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/11/2/image_hu_d57768ca3c9c4f7a.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/11/2/image_hu_13948987198ec0ca.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/11/2/image_hu_ef4ad2990470b669.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/11/2.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"title":"Two more Saratov-based believers await an early release trial in exchange for a fine","type":"news"},{"body":"Judge of the Dimitrovgrad City Court Dmitry Russky refuses to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a fine for Konstantin Bazhenov. The defense is preparing to appeal this decision.\n\"Unfortunately, for Kostya and me, such a decision was to some extent expected,\" Irina Bazhenova, Konstantin's wife, said after the trial, implying that under conditions of repression against Russian Jehovah's Witnesses, courts can easily ignore the exemplary behavior of believers in places of detention.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-10-28T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201028","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The hearings on the petitions of Gennady German and Roman Gridasov to replace the unserved part of the term with a milder form of punishment, scheduled for this day in the Central District Court of Orenburg (Orenburg, Montazhnikov St., 9), were postponed. A review date will be set at a later date.\nShortly after filing a petition to replace the unserved part of the sentence with a fine, Herman was reprimanded for allegedly not greeting the colony staff. This allows the administration of the institution to provide the court with a negative characteristic, which may affect the judge's decision.\nIn the run-up to the trial, believers maintain a positive attitude, thanks to the support of Orenburg's close and sympathetic residents. Letters from dozens of different countries also keep those convicted of faith from drowning in their spirits.\nIn the colony, German and Gridasov work in the sewing industry. Roman also mastered the profession of a cook.\n\"Believers are forced to work from morning to evening. After a hard day's work, they often only have time to wash and wash things. Conditions in the colony are poor. Prisoners are provided with only a small bedside table for storing their belongings. The clothes are of poor quality. According to those who have been kept in the colony for a long time, in summer it is very difficult to get permission to take off thick clothes, when due to hot weather the body gets very hot and you have to work in the literal sense of your own sweat. Their health condition has deteriorated, they have lost weight, their chronic diseases have worsened,\" says the lawyer of the believers who visited them in prison back in the spring. After his departure from the pre-trial detention center, a quarantine was declared there in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, visits by the defender are not yet possible.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-10-21T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201021","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["mitigation","life-in-prison"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"The new composition of the judicial board of the Penza Regional Court mitigates the conviction in the case of Vladimir and Tatyana Alushkin, Vladimir Kulyasov, Andrey Magliv, Galiya Olkhova and Denis Timoshin. Vladimir Alushkin was sentenced to 4 years of suspended sentence, the rest of the court gives 2 years of probation.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Alushkin and Others in Penza","date":"2020-09-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/penza/index.html#20200916","regions":["penza"],"tags":["appeal","mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On August, 3, 2020, the appeal court commuted the sentence imposed on a 61-year-old believer by the Pskov City Court, replacing 6.5 years of imprisonment with a suspended sentence. A few hours after the verdict was pronounced, Gennady was released from the pre-trial detention center.\nThe news is being updated\n","category":"verdict","date":"2020-08-03T21:49:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/08/1/image_hu_d1ed4925abeeb45a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/08/1/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/08/1/image_hu_35100e51907ac683.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/08/1/image_hu_6062f5b46d91d19a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/08/1.html","regions":["pskov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","liberty-deprivation","mitigation","suspended","282.2-1","282.3-1"],"title":"The Pskov Regional Court replaced Gennadiy Shpakovskiy's prison sentence with a suspended sentence. The believer has already been released.","type":"news"},{"body":"After Christensen's release from the punishment cell (SHIZO), where he stayed for 15 days on unjustified charges, the administration of the colony brought him there again. The reason was the believer's refusal to work there, which is detrimental to his health. The pressure on him increased after the court decision to soften his sentence.\nThe second time Christensen was sent to the SHIZO on July 15, 2020. The colony management invited doctors who cooperate with the penal system. They examined Christensen and concluded that he could work with breaks for rest and gymnastics. Previously, an independent doctor had concluded that the nature of the work expected at the prison sewing factory was contraindicated to him.\nSHIZO is a prison inside a prison with harsh conditions. Prisoners were not allowed to purchase food, receive visits, make phone calls or receive parcels or packages. Although by law prisoners in the SHIZO have the right to invite a clergyman, Dennis Christensen does not have this option because Jehovah's Witnesses are not officially registered in Russia.\nThe first time Dennis Christensen was brought to the SHIZO for 10 days, which was extended for another 5 days. If he is punished one more time, the colony may recognize him as a \"malicious violator\" and send him to a chamber-type facility ( EPKT ) for up to six months. In this case, the total term of Christensen's imprisonment may be extended.\nThe defense is trying to appeal against the penal colony's decisions on penalties. However, the Lgov District Court did not accept the claim for unlawfulness of the 1st punishment, because of which Christensen found himself in the penal colony for 15 days. Judge Tatiana Ignatieva referred to several formal, unfounded reasons and did not accept the suit. For example, she claimed that documents should be translated into Danish, although this is not required, as Christensen himself is the applicant in this case. Furthermore, she stated that the lawsuit should be accompanied by the prison administration's own decisions, which is not possible in principle, as one of them is an oral reprimand, and the second colony does not hand over to the prisoner and can only send him or her within a month in response to a lawyer's request. In the meantime, the judge had given the defense until 24 July to obtain documents and translate them into Danish.\nIn June 2020, Lgov District Court, considering Dennis Christensen's request for a reduction of his sentence, with the consent of the prosecutor's office, replaced his unexpired portion of his prison term with a large fine. Literally two days later the prosecutor's office changed its position and appealed the leniency to a higher court. For their part, the employees of the colony - on the same day - drew up two reports on Christensen's violation of prison rules at once, and the next day they sent him to SHIZO.\nDespite all the difficulties, Dennis Christensen is still in a positive mood.\n","category":"prison","date":"2020-07-25T09:41:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/07/18/image_hu_e6f3f8ca3ebdc8ee.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/07/18/image_hu_f828c4ff801a21fd.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/07/18/image_hu_8439b953393c033f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/07/18/image_hu_2449e80e381b7857.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/07/18.html","regions":["oryol","kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["life-in-prison","shizo","mitigation","complaints"],"title":"Four days after his release from the special punishment cell, the prison administration sent Dennis Christensen back to the special punishment cell again","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 26, 2020, the Lgov prison authorities illegally placed Dennis Christensen in a cell of a special punishment block (EPKT), typically used for malicious offenders. Given that his health has deteriorated, the move seems to be a calculated attempt to break him. At the same time, the prosecutor's office appealed the mitigation of his sentence, which they had originally supported in court. What happened?\nWhat did the prosecutor's office do?\nDe jure, Dennis Christensen has already spent more than 4 out of 6 years in prison for his faith. Already one year ago, he was eligible for parole or another mitigation of his sentence. On the 4th attempt, his petition went to court, and on June 23, 2020, the Lgov District Court ordered the replacement of the remaining part of the sentence with a fine of 400,000 rubles. Artem Kofanov, Deputy Prosecutor of the Kursk Prosecutor's Office for the Supervision of Correctional Institutions, who took part in the trial, supported the mitigation of the punishment. But two days later, on June 25, Aleksey Shatunov, the prosecutor of the same prosecutor's office, stated that the court ruling was illegal and demanded to cancel it and sent the material for a new trial to the same court. What made the prosecutor's office change its position is unknown.\nWhy did Prosecutor Shatunov consider the decision to have been illegal? In his presentation, he referred to the administration of the Lgov prison, which, according to him, characterized the prisoner unsatisfactorily: \"Due to the lack of positive activity in his work and public life of the correctional facility.\"\nShatunov's arguments were already considered invalid by the Lgov district court when they were voiced by the prison representatives during the trial on mitigation of the punishment. The defense submitted to the court expert reports confirming that Christensen has physical conditions that exclude him from physical labor: industrial work in the prison and participation in other types of labor. In turn, the representative of the penitentiary was forced to admit that the prison could not provide him with the type of work that would be in accord with his physical limitations. The court attached medical documents to the case and apparently relied on them in making its decision.\nWhat did the prison do?\nAt the same time as the unexpected actions of the prosecutor's office, events were developing in the Lgov prison: on June 25, two reports against Christensen were made at the same time. The first one — for the fact that he was in the food room at a wrong time, and the second — for the fact that he was in the barracks in a T-shirt, without a jacket. This was enough to have him sent to the EPKT for 10 days. In penal colonies, this is the strictest of measures for particularly vicious violators of prison order.\nAccording to the law, such measure is taken only in a case of repeated, serious violations by the prisoner and only after a medical examination for the absence of diseases that prevent the detention in the EPKT. Neither of these measures happened with Christensen.\n\"The colony administration chose a strange excuse to put Christensen in the EPKT as a particularly dangerous offender. The list of gross violations is given in Article 116 of the Penal Enforcement Code, and there is nothing in it that Christensen did. According to the administration of the colony, it turns out that being in a shirt in the barracks is the same as rioting or taking drugs,\" says Yaroslav Savulskiy, representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.\nThe believer and another prisoner are in a cell measuring 3.3 meters by 2.3 meters. The room is poorly ventilated and there is mold, which threatens the health of Christensen, who suffered pneumonia a few months ago. \"Dennis has been diagnosed with a serious spinal cord condition. The administration of the colony is aware of this, but placed him in conditions where he has to sleep on a hard bed, experiencing excruciating pain,\" said the lawyer of the believer.\nChristensen himself told the lawyer that at the time of his alleged violations in similar circumstances, there were other prisoners with him, but he alone was sent to the EPKT. \"This leads to the idea that there is a planned action, which is necessary to prevent Dennis from being released by court order,\" said the lawyer.\n","category":"prison","date":"2020-07-02T10:36:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/07/2/image_hu_e6f3f8ca3ebdc8ee.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/07/2/image_hu_f828c4ff801a21fd.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/07/2/image_hu_8439b953393c033f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/07/2/image_hu_2449e80e381b7857.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/07/2.html","regions":["oryol","kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","review","life-in-prison","mitigation","fabrications","health-risk","strict-conditions"],"title":"What Did the Prison and Prosecutor's Office Do to Prevent the Danish Believer Dennis Christensen From Going Free?","type":"news"},{"body":"Alexei Shatunov, prosecutor of the Kursk Prosecutor's Office for the Supervision of Correctional Institutions, states that the decision of the Lgov District Court to mitigate Christensen's sentence is illegal, demands that it be canceled and the material sent for a new trial. In his submission, Shatunov refers to the administration of the Lgov colony, which, according to him, characterizes the convict unsatisfactorily: \"Due to the lack of positive activity in labor and public life of the correctional institution.\" The same arguments were voiced by the colony staff during the trial on June 23, but the Lgov District Court found them untenable. It is noteworthy that at the same court hearing, Artem Kofanov, the prosecutor of the same prosecutor's office, supported the decision to mitigate Christensen's sentence.\nThe issue of Christensen's petitions for mitigation of punishment, which the Lgov court in December 2019 refused to consider on formal grounds, is getting an unexpected development. Although for the 4th time the court nevertheless accepted the petition and has already considered it, on June 25, 2020, the First Court of Cassation in Saratov declared one of the 3 refusals of the court illegal and returned the case to the Lgovsky District Court for reconsideration. Since Christensen's case has already been considered on the merits, the proceedings on the motion are likely to be suspended. \"Although this decision does not affect the issue of Christensen's release, it shows that he is being treated unfairly,\" explains the believer's lawyer.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Christensen in Oryol","date":"2020-06-25T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/oryol/index.html#20200625","regions":["oryol"],"tags":["appeal","mitigation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On June 23, 2020, at 19:50 Lgov district court, considering Dennis Christensen's petition for mitigation of his sentence, replaced his unexpired part of the prison term with a fine of 400,000 rubles. A Jehovah's Witness convicted of faith will be released after the court ruling enters into force.\nThe hearing was attended by Danish diplomats. No one else, including Dennis' wife Irina, was allowed into the building. Christensen himself attended the hearing via video.\nDennis Christensen was arrested on 25 May 2017 and sentenced to six years in prison in February 2019. The court considered it extremist that the believer continued to gather with his fellow believers for religious meetings and welcomed them before the religious service. However, there were no victims of Christensen's \"crimes\". To date, the believer has actually been behind bars for about 3 years and 1 month. However, taking into account the fact that according to the law, one day in the pre-trial detention facility equals 1.5 days in the general regime colony, Christensen has served more than 4 years of the term appointed by the court.\n\"From the moment of his arrest Christensen has behaved and behaved respectfully and correctly towards the employees of the investigation and court, the pre-trial detention facility and the employees of correctional colony № 3. He independently organized free English language training for prisoners, maintains friendly relations with other convicts,\" said Christensen's lawyer, explaining to Galina Petlitsa the grounds for the mitigation of punishment to the believer.\nCorrectional colony No. 3 in Lgov The lawyer described the mistakes made by the courts, which put Christensen in prison. As stated in an appeal ruling of the Supreme Court on October 18, 2016, which confirmed the liquidation of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses \"Oryol,\" believers in Russia \"are not deprived of the opportunity to perform their own religious worship. Contrary to this, the courts interpreted Christensen's private religion as the continuation of a banned legal entity.\n\"Judge Galina Petlitsa made a fair decision. This is a brave and honest act, which is not often decided recently by the judges hearing the cases of Jehovah's Witnesses,\" said the representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, Yaroslav Sivulski.\nReplacing the punishment of a believer means for Christensen the opportunity to go free without any additional restrictions, except for the obligation to pay the fine, said Christensen's advocate.\nCurrently, there are 10 convicts in Russian colonies for the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, while another 24 people are imprisoned. A total of 353 people who hold the views of Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of extremism for their Christian faith. The religious persecution continues despite assurances from the Russian government and Vladimir Putin that there is no reason to persecute Jehovah's Witnesses.\n","category":"verdict","date":"2020-06-23T20:17:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/06/16/image_hu_209aefe4dc92abe3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/06/16/image_hu_fce88e9de3035433.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/06/16/image_hu_cdc83b30c2547b0e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/06/16/image_hu_6c0c0c5048cff321.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/06/16.html","regions":["oryol","kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["mitigation","fine","international","life-in-prison"],"title":"The Court Ordered to Free Dennis Christensen, one of Jehovah's Witness From Denmark. For His Faith, He Stayed in Prison for 1128 Days","type":"news"},{"body":"Judge of the Lgov District Court of the Kursk Region Galina Petlitsa decides to replace Christensen's unserved part of the sentence with a fine of 400,000 rubles. Dennis spent 1128 days in custody and will be released after the court decision takes effect.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Christensen in Oryol","date":"2020-06-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/oryol/index.html#20200623","regions":["oryol"],"tags":["first-instance","mitigation"],"type":"timeline"}]