In Kovrov, A Court Found Aleksey Kupriyanov Guilty of Extremism for Believing in God. He Was Sentenced to a Penal Colony, But the Term Is Considered to Have Already Been Served

 RUSSIA

In Kovrov, A Court Found Aleksey Kupriyanov Guilty of Extremism for Believing in God. He Was Sentenced to a Penal Colony, But the Term Is Considered to Have Already Been Served

September 21, 2023 Vladimir Region

On September 15, 2023, the Kovrov City Court sentenced local resident Aleksey Kupriyanov to 1 year in prison and 6 months of restriction of liberty. Judge Vyacheslav Kuznetsov considered the quotation of the Bible as proof of the believer's guilt in extremism. The term shall be deemed to have been served during the investigation. Kupriyanov insists on his innocence.

Back in February 2021, during mass searches and interrogations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kovrov, Aleksey faced persecution on religious grounds. The case was opened against him in June 2021. D. A. Tyumenev, an investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Vladimir Region, concluded that Kupriyanov continued the activities of the liquidated legal entity (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) by "taking part in religious meetings ... actively participated in the collection of information on the amount of work done... on the implementation of... the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses ... to the civilian masses." Soon Kupriyanov's house was searched again, after which the believer was detained and then placed in a pre-trial detention center.

The imprisonment lasted about 4.5 months. At this time, the believer was forbidden to read the Bible, to pronounce the name of God Jehovah, for some time the letters have not been passed to the believer. He was also threatened that his wife and son would be persecuted as well. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. he was forced to sit on the cold floor. Also, Kupriyanov's cellmate, former detective V. V. Voskoboynikov, convicted of organizing torture, on the instructions of the pre-trial detention center personel, put pressure on the believer to incriminate himself. Because of this, Aleksey began to have health problems, but despite the high temperature, he was not transferred to the medical unit. Subsequently, Kupriyanov had to undergo surgery.

Later, the believer was transferred to house arrest for seven months, he was allowed to have a two hour walk a day. In September 2022, Kupriyanov's case went to court. At the court hearings, prosecution witnesses stated that they had not heard extremist calls from the defendant. FSB officer Bordunov, who conducted operational search activities, said that Kupriyanov participated in the activities of the liquidated legal entity, but did not provide evidence of this and avoided answering most of the questions from the defense.

According to Kupriyanov, a great encouragement for him was the care of his wife and fellow believers, who sent encouraging thoughts in letters. Aleksey recalls: "With the help of letters and the Bible, by supplication, day and night, I had to fight the feeling of worthlessness that they tried to instill in me. It's been like that for months." According to Alexei, he was given strength by the opportunity to "comfort other brothers and sisters" with poems that he composed in response letters.

In his last plea, Aleksey Kupriyanov said: "The accusation is based only on the fact that I am a believer and that I believe in Jehovah. Your Honor, this is a trial of faith!" Although there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence the believer to 4 years in prison. Considering the clarifications of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of October 28, 2021, Kupriyanov can appeal the verdict to a higher court.

Kupriyanov case in Kovrov

Brief history of the case

Searches in the house of accountant Alexey Kupriyanov took place twice - in February and July 2021. The Investigative Committee for the Vladimir Region opened a criminal case against a believer for “participation in religious meetings.” The entire accusation is based on one quote from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, spoken by Kupriyanov at a service. After Alexey’s arrest, the condition of his mother, a group II disabled person, worsened, and the believer, while behind bars, lost the opportunity to care for her. He spent about 4.5 months in pre-trial detention. There Alexey faced inhumane treatment, and his health suffered seriously. In November 2021, Kupriyanov was transferred to house arrest. After another 7 months, the court softened his preventive measure to the prohibition of certain actions. In September 2022, the case went to trial. In September 2023, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to prison, but the time was counted as time served during the investigation.

Criminal case

Region:

Vladimir Region

Locality:

Kovrov

What is suspected:

“took part in religious meetings of participants of the MRO SI in the city of Kovrov, spoke at them,” “collected information about the volume of work done ... to introduce the ideology of the religious teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses”

Criminal case number:

12107170001000017

Initiated:

June 28, 2021

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigates:

Investigative Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Vladimir Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-21/2023 (1-425/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Kovrov City Court, Vladimir Region

Judge of the trial court:

Vyacheslav Kuznetsov

In the photo: Aleksey and Yelena Kupriyanovs in the court room. September 2023.