Cassation Court Did Not Change the Verdict of Aleksandr Kalistratov, Who Was Acquitted 13 Years Ago. He Will Continue to Serve a 6.5-Year Suspended Sentence for Believing in Jehovah God

 RUSSIA

Cassation Court Did Not Change the Verdict of Aleksandr Kalistratov, Who Was Acquitted 13 Years Ago. He Will Continue to Serve a 6.5-Year Suspended Sentence for Believing in Jehovah God

October 31, 2023 Altai

On October 31, 2023, the Eighth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Kemerovo upheld the sentence for faith of 47-year-old Aleksandr Kalistratov — 6.5 years of suspended sentence.

Earlier, in 2010, the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic fully acquitted Kalistratov under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In April 2023, the same court upheld the conviction for peaceful conversations about God. The believer continued to defend his innocence. In his cassation appeal, he stated: "My motive was not extremist motives, but the intention to exercise the right to profess and spread the faith in the ways specific to Jehovah's Witnesses."

The defense believes that these judicial acts were issued in violation of the law, as well as international treaties of the Russian Federation. The defendant emphasized: "At the time of initiation of the case against me, the investigation did not have information about a single action that could be considered a crime. Accordingly, the investigation had no grounds for initiating a criminal case."

Kalistratov also pointed out that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not prohibit either the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses or the methods of its confession. "Accordingly," continued Aleksandr, "the followers of this religion were not required to renounce their faith, or to abandon the external forms of its expression ... (holding joint worship services, spreading doctrine or meeting with fellow believers)."

The European Court of Human Rights has emphasized that "legal formalities should not be used to impede the freedom of association of groups disliked by the authorities or advocating ideas that the authorities would like to suppress" (§ 243).

Kalistratov case in Gorno-Altaisk

Brief history of the case

Alexander Kalistratov faced criminal prosecution for the third time because of his faith. In 2000, he was arrested for refusing to take up arms and placed in a pre-trial detention center for 21 days. However, he was later acquitted by the court with the right to rehabilitation. In 2010, for his beliefs, Alexander again found himself in the dock on charges of extremism. Over the course of 1.5 years, his case was considered twice. As a result, the first conviction of a Jehovah's Witness was made under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The believer eventually managed to defend his good name: the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic found Kalistratov innocent with the right to rehabilitation. But in December 2021, he again became a defendant in a criminal case under the same extremist article. A search was conducted in Kalistratov’s house, after which the believer was given a written undertaking not to leave. In February 2023, the court sentenced Alexander to 6.5 years probation. The appeal and cassation confirmed this verdict.

Criminal case

Region:

Altai

Locality:

Gorno-Altaisk

What is suspected:

Convened meetings, “for the purpose of secrecy, determined the places and methods of their holding through software for video calls via the Internet information and telecommunications network” (from the decision to implicate him as an accused)

Criminal case number:

12102840008000049

Initiated:

December 16, 2021

Current stage of the case:

Verdict took effect

Investigates:

Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Altai Republic

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1)

Court case number:

1-22/2023 (1-471/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Gorno-Altai City Court of the Altai Republic

Judge of the trial court:

Natalia Sokolova