The Court in Yaroslavl Punished Three Men and a Woman With Suspended Sentences From 2.5 to 6.5 Years For Their Beliefs

 RUSSIA

The Court in Yaroslavl Punished Three Men and a Woman With Suspended Sentences From 2.5 to 6.5 Years For Their Beliefs

August 4, 2023 Yaroslavl Region

On August 3, 2023, Judge Irina Vlasova of the Dzerzhinsky District Court of Yaroslavl found four Jehovah's Witnesses guilty of extremism. 47-year-old Andrey Vyushin and 57-year-old Petr Filiznov received 6.5 years suspended; 40-year-old Aleksandr and 35-year-old Mariya Kuznetsova received 2.5 years of suspended sentence.

As an additional punishment, the court imposed a restriction of freedom on the Kuznetsovs for 6 months. Filiznov and Vyushin got restriction of freedom for 1 year with deprivation of the right to hold leading positions in public and religious organizations for 4 years and 6 months.

In the spring of 2021, a series of searches took place in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Yaroslavl. The father of a young child Andrey Vyushin, as well as Petr Filiznov and the Kuznetsovs were detained. For discussing the Bible, praying and singing religious songs, Vyushin and Filiznov were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and the Kuznetsovs — of participating in its activities. All four believers spent 3 months in a pre-trial detention center, and then another 2 years - under the ban on certain actions.

The criminal case against the residents of Yaroslavl was investigated by the Investigative Committee for more than a year; it went to court in August 2022. Judge Irina Vlasova heard the case for 10 months with short breaks due to the illness of Aleksandr Kuznetsov, he was fighting cancer. The prosecution used the testimony of secret witnesses, but the defendants pointed out that their words did not correspond to the facts. Other witnesses said that they had not heard from the defendants calls for the overthrow of the state system, the rupture of family relations, or other extremist statements.

The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed, as the believers insist on their innocence. They emphasize that it is because of the Bible that they have become useful members of society. Thus, Mariya Kuznetsova said: “Only love for God and people encourages Jehovah’s Witnesses to gather together, read his Word, the Bible, meditate, discuss biblical questions, pray, sing spiritual songs, and change for the better.” According to her husband Aleksandr Kuznetsov, the accusation is completely at odds with the explanation of the Plenum of the Supreme Court, which states that a religious event in itself is not an illegal activity. “The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not forbid me to be a believer, a Jehovah’s Witness… Faith in the living God Jehovah and worship of him are not evil acts or extremism,” he stressed.

According to the ruling of the ECtHR, “only religious expressions and actions that contain or call for violence, hate or discrimination may serve as grounds for suppressing them as ‘extremist’.” Despite the absence of signs of extremism in the actions of believers, the authorities continue the mass persecution of Witnesses Jehovah in Russia.

Case of Filiznov and others in Yaroslavl

Brief history of the case

In April 2021, the investigation opened a criminal case under an extremist article against Andrei Vyushin, Pyotr Filiznov, as well as the spouses Alexander and Maria Kuznetsov. They were suspected of holding liturgical meetings “including through the Internet, in which [they] propagated forbidden teachings.” The security forces conducted searches in Yaroslavl and neighboring Rybinsk, after which 4 believers were placed in a pre-trial detention center. After 3 months, the court released them under the prohibition of certain actions. Vyushin was fitted with a tracking bracelet on his leg, and a control device was installed in the apartment, although his preventive measure did not prohibit him from leaving the home or being in certain places. In August 2022, the case went to court. After 11 months, the believers were sentenced: Andrei Vyushin and Pyotr Filiznov received 6.5 years of probation, and Alexander and Maria Kuznetsov received 2.5 years of probation.

Criminal case

Region:

Yaroslavl Region

Locality:

Yaroslavl

What is suspected:

held liturgical meetings “including with the help of the Internet network, within which [they] propagandized forbidden teachings” (from a press release of the Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Yaroslavl Region)

Case number:

12102780014000004

Initiated:

April 12, 2021

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Yaroslavl Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-7/2023 (1-387/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Dzerzhinsky District Court of Yaroslavl

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Irina Vlasova

In the photo: Spouses Kuznetsovs, Pyotr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin on the day of the court session. August 2023