In Orenburg, a court equated friendly meetings in cafes with extremism. Five believers received from 2.5 to 3.5 years probation

 RUSSIA

In Orenburg, a court equated friendly meetings in cafes with extremism. Five believers received from 2.5 to 3.5 years probation

August 29, 2023 Orenburg Region

On August 28, 2023, the judge of the Industrial District Court of Orenburg, Diana Sudorgina, found five Jehovah's Witnesses guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced them to 2.5 to 3.5 years of probation. The prosecutor asked for the same terms for them, but with serving in a general regime colony. Believers deny their guilt in extremism.

60-year-old Sergei Logunov was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months of probation with restriction of freedom for 8 months with a probationary period of 2 years. The court sentenced 30-year-old Vladislav Kolbanov to 3 years and 6 months of probation with restriction of freedom for 10 months with a probationary period of 3 years. 42-year-old Vladimir Kochnev received 2 years and 8 months of probation with restriction of liberty for 10 months with a probationary period of 2 years and 2 months. The judge sentenced 42-year-old Pavel Lekontsev to 3 years of probation with restriction of freedom for 10 months with a probationary period of 2 years and 6 months. 47-year-old Nikolai Zhugin received 2 years and 6 months of probation with restriction of freedom for 8 months and a probationary period of 2 years. The judge placed all the believers under house arrest.

On May 14, 2018, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case, having perceived the friendly events of believers in a cafe as a continuation of the activities of a banned religious organization. After mass searches in the Orenburg region, the security forces sent Kolbanov and Kochnev to a temporary detention facility, while others were placed on bail. Soon Kochnev ended up in a pre-trial detention center, and Kolbanov was transferred under house arrest. Kochnev spent about three months behind bars. After 1.5 years of investigation, the believers were reclassified the articles of accusation to softer ones.

In December 2019, the case was submitted to the Promyshlenny District Court, but Judge Tatyana Gorbacheva found neither specific charges against the believers nor the motives and purposes of the “crime” in the case. In this regard, the case was returned to the prosecutor's office and only more than a year later it was again submitted to the same court for consideration by Judge Igor Izmailov. The defense filed a motion to recuse him, and a new judge, Diana Sudorgina, entered the case. During the court hearings, forgery in the texts of the transcripts and errors in the examinations were revealed.

Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Orenburg on the grounds of religion has been going on for the sixth year. International organizations, human rights activists, as well as the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, have repeatedly expressed concern about the repressions for the faith in Russia.

Case of Kochnev and Others in Orenburg

Brief history of the case

In May 2018, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against Vladimir Kochnev, Vladislav Kolbanov, Pavel Lekontsev, Sergei Logunov and Nikolai Zhugin. Believers from Orenburg were accused of organizing and financing the activities of an extremist organization, as well as participating in it. The occasion was a friendly meeting in a cafe. After the searches, three men were released on bail, and two were detained. Kochnev spent 76 days in jail and 72 days under house arrest, while Kolbanov spent 149 days under house arrest. In December 2019, the case went to court, but a month later it was returned to the prosecutor's office due to the vague nature of the charges. A retrial by a different judge began in February 2021. The accusation is based on the testimony of the infiltrated agent V. Yudin. In August 2023, the judge sentenced believers to suspended sentences: Logunov and Zhugin to 2.5 years, Kochnev to 2 years and 8 months, Lekontsev to 3 years, and Kolbanov to 3.5 years.

Criminal case

Region:

Orenburg Region

Locality:

Orenburg

What is suspected:

according to investigators, together with others, he held divine services, which is interpreted as “organization and participation in the activities of an extremist organization”

Case number:

11802530021000017

Initiated:

May 14, 2018

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Orenburg Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (1)

Case number in court:

1-1/2023 (1-2/2022; 1-139/2021; 1-62/2020; 1-501/2019)

Court:

Industrial District Court of Orenburg

Judge:

Diana Sudorgina

In the photo: Sergei Logunov, Pavel Lekontsev, Vladislav Kolbanov, Vladimir Kochnev and Nikolai Zhugin at the courthouse on the day of the verdict. August 2023.