Aleksandr Nikolayev, Father of Five, Convicted for His Faith, Was Released from the Colony

 RUSSIA


Aleksandr Nikolayev, Father of Five, Convicted for His Faith, Was Released from the Colony

September 20, 2023 Krasnodar Territory


On September 19, 2023, Aleksandr Nikolayev, a father of five, was released from a penal colony in Khadyzhensk, where he spent almost a year for his faith in Jehovah God. The believer was greeted by his wife and children and mother-in-law. At the exit from the colony, FSB and police officers were on duty, and there were several police vans.


The verdict - 2.5 years in prison - was handed down to Nikolayev in December 2021. Aleksandr was the first believer to be given a real sentence after the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, explaining that participation in worship services is not a reason for conviction under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Despite this, the man was found guilty of extremism for reading a biblical passage via video conferencing.


Aleksandr was detained in September 2021. In total, he spent 13 months in a pre-trial detention center and 11 months in a penal colony. For some time, he was in strict conditions of detention. The believer was also denied parole. All this time, Aleksandr was strengthened by letters of support coming from around the world.


In the Krasnodar Territory, 32 of Jehovah's Witnesses are already being persecuted for their faith, six of them are in colonies. On September 15, Maksim Beltikov from the village of Pavlovskaya was released from prison.


The case of Nikolayev in Kholmskaya


Brief history of the case


In April 2021, FSB officers, accompanied by riot police, came to search the Nikolaev couple, parents of five children, two of whom are adopted. Shortly before this, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Alexander Nikolaev for participation in extremist activities for reading the Bible at a service. In July 2021, the case went to trial. Two months later, the believer was sent to a pre-trial detention center, and in December of the same year, the court sentenced the believer to 2.5 years in prison. At the time the sentence came into force, Nikolaev had served more than half of his sentence in the detention center. The believer was taken to the colony in March 2023; the next month he asked the court for parole, but was refused. At the end of July 2023, the cassation upheld the sentence, canceling additional restrictions after release. Nikolaev was released from the colony in September 2023.


Criminal case


Region:

Krasnodar Territory

Locality:

Kholmskaya

What is suspected:

“Through information and telecommunication networks... entered into conversations and religious discussions, participated in a collective discussion of the contents of religious books of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the so-called “Holy Scripture” (the Bible)... emphasizing that in these books contains true knowledge about God" (from the court verdict)

Criminal case number:

12107030001000016

Initiated:

March 31, 2021

Current stage of the case:

verdict took effect

Investigates:

Investigative Directorate of the Russian Federation Investigative Committee for the Krasnodar Territory

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-195/2021

Court:

Abinsky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory

Judge:

Nikolay Surmach


In the photo: Alexander Nikolaev with his wife Evgenia, mother-in-law and five children at the exit from the colony. September 2023.

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