Court in Petrozavodsk fined four Jehovah's Witnesses for reading the Bible

 RUSSIA

Court in Petrozavodsk fined four Jehovah's Witnesses for reading the Bible

July 31, 2023 Karelia

On July 28, 2023, the judge of the Petrozavodsk City Court of the Republic of Karelia Stepan Sergeev fined Maxim Amosov, Nikolai Leshchenko and Dmitry Ravnushkin 500,000 rubles each, and Mikhail Gordeev 450,000 rubles. They were found guilty of extremism for participating in religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Believers do not agree with the verdict. In court, they emphasized that the worship services were exclusively peaceful in nature and were "conditioned by the motive to fulfill the commands recorded in the Bible."

The criminal case was initiated by the branch of the FSB in Karelia in July 2019. In the same month, a raid took place at the home of local Jehovah's Witnesses in Petrozavodsk. Several believers were charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1, Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) . From Maxim Amosov, and then Nikolai Leshchenko, they took a written undertaking not to leave. Within three months, new defendants appeared in the case: Mikhail Gordeev and Dmitry Ravnushkin. FSB officers searched their workplaces. They took a written undertaking not to leave.

The first court hearing took place in October 2021. However, six months later, the judge was replaced and the process began anew. As emphasized by the defense, the position of the prosecution was untenable. Thus, contrary to the allegations of the prosecution, a linguistic examination proved that in the conversations of believers "there are no statements that deal with the advantage and negative assessment of one person or group of persons over other people on the grounds of attitude to religion."

Witness testimony from the prosecution also spoke in favor of the defendants - they were given positive characteristics, praised for their professionalism, peacefulness, responsiveness, and willingness to help. “You can rely on him one hundred percent. I have never seen employees better than him, ”said the director of the institution in which he worked about Amosov.

According to the convicts, despite the difficulties that the criminal prosecution has created - blocking bank cards, for someone being fired from work - they try to maintain a positive attitude. As Nikolai Leshchenko said, fellow believers provided special support to his family: “Some have traveled more than a thousand kilometers to encourage us and bring food.” Mikhail Gordeev said: “Although my family and I are under stress due to unfair treatment, we are aware that we are persecuted only for our faith. As a result, it only gets stronger.”

This is already the second conviction of Jehovah's Witnesses in Karelia. Human rights activists condemn religious repressions against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The European Court of Human Rights found these persecutions groundless and unlawful.

Case of Amosov and Others in Petrozavodsk

Brief history of the case

In July 2019, the FSB carried out massive searches in the homes and workplaces of believers in Petrozavodsk. Several more searches took place in the neighboring city of Kondopoga. Spouses Maxim and Maria Amosov were detained right on the street, while the woman's coat was torn. A criminal case was initiated against Maxim, in which 3 more defendants later appeared: Nikolai Leshchenko, Mikhail Gordeev and Dmitry Ravnushkin. Gordeev and Ravnushkin were detained at their workplaces, the latter, after being interrogated by the FSB, was fired from the post of chief power engineer. The believers were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and they were ordered not to leave. In October 2021, the case went to court. Some documents dated 1990-2000 had nothing to do with the case. And the testimony of witnesses for the prosecution spoke in favor of the defendants. Despite this, in July 2023, the court sentenced four believers to fines: Maksim Amosov, Nikolai Leshchenko, and Dmitry Ravnushkin, each in the amount of 500,000 rubles, and Mikhail Gordeev, 450,000 rubles.

Criminal case

Region:

Karelia

Locality:

Petrozavodsk

What is suspected:

According to investigators, they united in an organized group with the aim of organizing the activities of the local branch of the banned religious organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" on the territory of the city of Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, including by organizing meetings and involving new members in its activities.

Case number:

11907860001000022

Initiated:

July 22, 2019

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

Federal Security Service of Russia for the Republic of Karelia

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2(1)

Case number in court:

No. 1-34/2023 (1-223/2022; 1-1110/2021)

Court:

Petrozavodsk City Court of the Republic of Karelia

Judge:

Stepan Sergeev

In the photo: From left to right: Dmitry Ravnushkin with his wife Alena, Maxim Amosov with his wife Maria, Mikhail Gordeev and Nikolai Leshchenko with his wife Svetlana at the courthouse. November 2021.