An Appeal in Yekaterinburg Overturned the Conviction of Believers From Karpinsk, Following the Supreme Court. Case Returned to Prosecutor

 RUSSIA


An Appeal in Yekaterinburg Overturned the Conviction of Believers From Karpinsk, Following the Supreme Court. Case Returned to Prosecutor

July 7, 2023 Sverdlovsk Region


On July 6, 2023, four months after the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the acquittal of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Karpinsk, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court ruled that the case against Aleksandr Pryanikov, Venera Dulova and her daughter Darya be returned to the prosecutor.


Believers insist on their innocence. At the appeal hearing, Venera Dulova said: “I consider this criminal case fabricated, I consider it repression for faith, because my religion is the only reason for the charge.” Her daughter Darya added: “I can say in good conscience that I am not guilty of either extremism or participation in the activities of banned religious organizations.”


The investigation reduced all the accusations against the three believers to conversations about the Bible. Alexander Pryanikov asked questions to the Court of Appeal: “What is the public danger? Whom have I harmed? It never crossed my mind that a conversation with anyone on such topics as family happiness, consolation for those who mourn, a future earthly paradise, can be so dangerous that a person is tried under a serious article and threatened to be thrown into prison".


The Dulovs and Pryanikov have been defending their innocence in court since September 2019. The Sverdlovsk Regional Court twice overturned convictions against believers. Cassation also took their side. However, the prosecutor's office appealed these decisions to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which, contrary to its own explanations at the Plenum in 2021, canceled the acquittal.


The European Commission for Democracy through Law warned the Russian Federation back in 2012 that the anti-extremist law “due to broad and inaccurate wording” provides “too wide discretion . . . which will lead to arbitrariness” and bring “potential danger to individuals.” 10 years later, the ECHR condemned the actions of the Russian authorities in relation to Jehovah's Witnesses, pointing out that a large-scale repressive campaign was launched against the followers of this religion.


Case of Prianikov and Others in Karpinsk


Brief history of the case


In June 2018, Venera Dulova and Alexander Pryanikov were detained for talking about the Bible. A criminal case was opened against them for participation in the activities of an extremist organization. A year later, 18-year-old Daria Dulova became the third defendant in the case. According to the investigation, the three believers entered into a criminal conspiracy. In January 2020, they were sentenced to suspended sentences ranging from 1 year to 2.5 years. The Court of Appeal in Yekaterinburg overturned the verdict and returned the case to the court of first instance. This time, the prosecutor requested a more severe punishment, but the court duplicated the first verdict. In March 2022, an appeal overturned the verdict, acquitting the believers. Cassation did not change this decision. However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in March 2023 overturned the acquittal and returned the case to the appeal stage, which returned the case to the prosecutor's office. All three believers are defendants in yet another criminal case for their faith.


Criminal case


Region:

Sverdlovsk Region

Locality:

Karpinsk

What is suspected:

“being on the territory of the city of Karpinsk ... by a group of persons, knowing for certain that the religious organization “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” was recognized as extremist, and its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation were prohibited, participated in its activities by directly participating in events, conducting propaganda of its activities , familiarization with religious literature "

Case number:

11802650042000038

Initiated:

July 30, 2018

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

SO in Krasnoturinsk Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Sverdlovsk Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2(2)

Case number in court:

1-11/2021 (1-184/2020; 1-5/2020; 1-167/2019)

Court:

Karpinsky City Court of the Sverdlovsk Region


In the photo: Daria and Venera Dulov, Alexander Pryanikov

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