Court in Solikamsk fines three Jehovah's Witnesses for talking about the Bible

 RUSSIA

Court in Solikamsk fines three Jehovah's Witnesses for talking about the Bible

August 18, 2023 Perm Territory

On August 18, 2023, the judge of the Solikamsk City Court of the Perm Territory, Evgeny Sergeev, fined 50-year-old Alexander Sobyanin 494 thousand rubles, 61-year-old Vladimir Poltoradnev - 638 thousand rubles and 54-year-old Vladimir Timoshkin - 512 thousand rubles, finding them guilty of extremism for participation in peaceful worship.

The believers did not admit their guilt, they repeatedly drew the attention of the court to the fact that their activities were legal. “All my actions were exclusively peaceful and did not harm anyone,” said Vladimir Poltoradnev. A similar thought was expressed by Vladimir Timoshkin: "For me, by virtue of the creeds confessed, it is unacceptable to propagate any extremist ideas or incite enmity and hatred."

The criminal case was initiated by the investigative department for Solikamsk of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Perm Territory in July 2020. Investigator Sergei Kanafiev accused the believers of organizing an extremist organization, pointing out that they "participated in religious meetings ... discussed issues and topics of a religious nature with followers." In Solikamsk, searches were carried out in several houses of local Jehovah's Witnesses. Alexander Sobyanin, Vladimir Timoshkin and Vladimir Poltoradnev were sent to the temporary detention center by the security forces. Later, Sobyanin's preventive measure was replaced by a ban on certain actions. Poltoradnev and Timoshkin spent 2 and 3 months under house arrest, respectively. Subsequently, they were also prohibited from certain activities.

The investigation lasted more than 2.5 years, and in April 2023 the case went to court. During the hearings, violations on the part of the investigation were revealed. For example, as Sobyanin and Timoshkin stated, the prosecution presented as evidence of the believers' guilt audio recordings of wiretapping, in which their voices are not heard. Vladimir Poltoradnev said that he did not own the allegedly confiscated literature.

Witnesses interrogated in court gave positive characteristics to the defendants. The former boss of Poltoradnev spoke of him like this: “An excellent worker! He has no complaints." The believers were also positively described by their colleagues and neighbors.

The prosecutor requested 6 years in prison for Vladimir Timoshkin and Vladimir Poltoradnev, and asked Alexander Sobyanin to replace Part 1 (organization of extremist activity) with Part 2 (participation) of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and sentence him to 3 years in prison. The verdict has not yet entered into force.

In the Perm Territory , 11 believers have already been prosecuted, five of them received suspended sentences, and five more received fines.

The UN Human Rights Council expresses concern about the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and draws attention to the fact that "the actions of the state [to liquidate the legal entities of believers] were motivated by the discriminatory goal: to stop the religious practice of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia."

Case of Poltoradnev and Timoshkin in Solikamsk

Brief history of the case

In July 2020, the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for the Perm Territory opened a criminal case against unidentified persons on charges of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. By that time, law enforcement officers had been spying on several Jehovah's Witnesses in Solikamsk for a long time. After searches and interrogations, Vladimir Poltoradnev, Alexander Sobyanin and Vladimir Timoshkin ended up in a temporary detention facility. Then Sobyanin was released under a ban on certain actions, and Poltoradnev and Timoshkin were released under house arrest for 2 and 3 months, respectively. Later, the preventive measure of the latter was changed to a ban on certain actions. After the investigation was repeatedly suspended and resumed, and the prosecutor could not approve the indictment, a new investigator entered the case. In April 2023, the case went to court. During court hearings, it turned out that many of the evidence in the case was falsified, and witnesses for the prosecution spoke positively about the defendants. In August 2023, the court found the believers guilty and fined Alexander Sobyanin 494,000 rubles, Vladimir Poltorandnev 638,000 rubles, and Vladimir Timoshkin 512,000 rubles.

Criminal case

Region:

Perm Territory

Locality:

Solikamsk

What is suspected:

"Directly participated in religious meetings ... discussed with followers issues and topics of a religious nature" (from the decision to bring him as an accused)

Case number:

12002570024000055

Initiated:

July 27, 2020

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

SO in Solikamsk

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2(1)

Case number in court:

1-180/2023

Court of First Instance:

Solikamsk City Court of the Perm Territory

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Evgeny Sergeev

In the photo: Alexander Sobyanin, Vladimir Timoshkin, Vladimir Poltoradnev.