A court in Taiga sentenced two Jehovah's Witnesses to 3 years in prison, but considered the term already served. Yuri Usanov and Maxim Morozov at large

 RUSSIA

A court in Taiga sentenced two Jehovah's Witnesses to 3 years in prison, but considered the term already served. Yuri Usanov and Maxim Morozov at large

August 15, 2023 Kemerovo Region

On August 15, 2023, Tatyana Kovaleva, a judge of the Taiginsky City Court of the Kemerovo Region, sentenced Yuri Usanov and Maxim Morozov to 3 years in prison for their faith. But since the term is considered to have already been served in the pre-trial detention center, the believers were released. More than 60 listeners admitted to the courtroom greeted this decision with applause.

Believers faced persecution on religious grounds in early April 2021, when the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region-Kuzbass opened a criminal case against Yuri Usanov, accusing him of holding meetings of believers via videoconferencing. After the searches that took place the next day, Usanov was detained and put in a pre-trial detention center. After 4 months, Maxim Morozov also ended up behind bars. According to him, as evidence of "involvement in extremism," the investigation provided them with video recordings of meetings at which the Bible was discussed and prayers to God were heard.

Usanov spent more than two years behind bars, Morozov - about one and a half. The last 9 months before the verdict, Yuri Usanov was in solitary confinement. Usanov had a wedding scheduled for July 2021, so she had to be held in an isolation ward . Employees of the Anzhero-Sudzhensk pre-trial detention center said that such a thing “has never been seen here before.” The administration of the pre-trial detention center gave the newlyweds 5 minutes to communicate after registering the marriage, after which Yuri's wife, Irina, did not receive visits from her husband for about a year.

After almost a year of preliminary investigation, the case went to court. Falsifications were revealed at the meetings: the testimony of two witnesses for the prosecution was identical up to spelling errors; another woman claimed that there were words in the record of her interrogation that she did not say. In court, she spoke of believers as kind, modest and patient people. Despite this, the prosecutor asked for 31-year-old Usanov and 40-year-old Morozov for 5 years and 2 months in prison and 7 months of additional restrictions. The verdict delivered by the court has not entered into force and can be appealed.

A few days before the verdict was passed, the state prosecutor reclassified the charge to participation in the activities of an extremist organization, without finding evidence of actions of an “organizational nature”. This contributed to the mitigation of punishment and the speedy release of believers.

The court found Morozov and Usanov guilty of committing a crime under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentenced to imprisonment for 3 years with an additional restriction of freedom for 6 months (not to change the place of residence or stay without the consent of the specialized state body exercising supervision, and also not to leave the territory of the urban district without its consent - for Usanov Taiginsky urban district, for Morozov - urban district of Tolyatti). Believers were credited with the term of detention at the rate of 1 day for 1.5 days.

To date , 19 Jehovah's Witnesses, including three women, have been subjected to religious repression in the Kemerovo region. Recently, a harsh sentence was handed down there against Andrey Vlasov, a believer with a disability. In prison conditions, his illness is rapidly progressing. According to the law, he cannot be detained .

The world community and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation have stated that “the joint performance of rituals and ceremonies [of Jehovah's Witnesses] in itself does not constitute a crime under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.

Case of Usanov and Morozov in Taiga

Brief history of the case

In April 2021, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Yuri Usanov. The next day, his house was searched, and then he was placed in a pre-trial detention center in Anzhero-Sudzhensk. In August of the same year, Maxim Morozov was detained in Tolyatti. He was later taken to the same pre-trial detention center. According to the investigation, the believers “organized the activities of a banned religious organization by means of the Zoom computer program by convening and holding meetings of its members and holding conversations.” In September 2021, Yury Usanov registered a marriage with his fiancee Irina right in the pre-trial detention center. The case went to court in March 2022. The believers were taken to each meeting in a paddy wagon 70 km one way. In August 2023, the article of the charge was changed to participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Soon the judge announced the verdict: 3 years in a penal colony, which she considered served and released the believers to freedom.

Criminal case

Region:

Kemerovo Region

Locality:

Taiga

What is suspected:

“committed actions of an organizational nature aimed at continuing and resuming the illegal activities of the banned organization “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” in the form of convening meetings with the participation of residents of the city of Taiga”

Case number:

12102320014000015

Initiated:

April 1, 2021

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

Investigative department for the city of Taiga of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo region - Kuzbass

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2(2)

Case number in court:

1-2/2023 (1-35/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Taiginsky city court of the Kemerovo region

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Tatyana Kovaleva

In the photo: Maxim Morozov and Yuri Usanov after their release.