The Court Sentenced the Previously Acquitted Aleksey Khabarov to 2.5 Years in Prison

 RUSSIA


The Court Sentenced the Previously Acquitted Aleksey Khabarov to 2.5 Years in Prison

October 25, 2023 Pskov Region


On October 20, 2023, the Porkhov District Court of the Pskov Region issued a verdict in the case Aleksey Khabarov, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, for the third time. This time, judge Natalia Kapustina found him guilty of extremism and sentenced him to 2 years and 6 months in a general regime colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.


Khabarov's accusation of extremism was based on ordinary religious activities. The believer explained: "Professing religion does not simply mean silently believing that there is a God. Jehovah's Witnesses ... study the Bible, discuss it with others, and try to live in harmony with what is written in the Bible." In his final statement, he added: "My real motive — love — is directly opposite to enmity and hatred, which means that there is no subjective side of the crime. Consequently, there is no corpus delicti as such." The believer has the right to appeal the court's decision once again.


The criminal prosecution of Khabarov began in 2019. The case did not go to court the first time — the prosecutor's office identified shortcomings in it and returned it to the investigator. Various court proceedings have been ongoing since October 2020. For the first time, the court sentenced Khabarov to 3 years of suspended sentence, although the prosecutor requested 3.5 years in prison. The appeal overturned this decision, and the court in a new composition acquitted Khabarov. But the second appeal did not agree with such a verdict and sent the case for the third consideration in the first instance.


This is not the first time that cases against Jehovah's Witnesses have been reviewed several times. This was the case with the Bazhenov spouses and Vera Zolotova, Dmitriy Barmakin, Aleksandr Pryanikov, Venera and Darya Dulova. Russian and international law scholars are calling for an end to the repression of Jehovah's Witnesses.


Khabarov case in Porkhov


Brief history of the case


In 2019, the FSB Directorate for the Pskov Region opened a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Porkhov. FSB officers conducted searches and interrogated local believers. As a result, Alexey Khabarov was accused of extremism. During the hearings in the Porkhovsky District Court, all witnesses, including an FSB counter-terrorism officer, gave Khabarov positive characteristics. In September 2021, the court sentenced him to 3 years probation. The appeal overturned this decision, and in January 2022 the case was re-examined by a new court. The prosecutor again asked Khabarova to serve 3.5 years in prison, but the court acquitted her. In November 2022, the appeal again sent the case for a new - already the third - consideration in the same court. This time the believer was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in a general regime colony.


Criminal case


Region:

Pskov Region

Locality:

Porkhov

What is suspected:

“Deliberately, in accordance with their religious beliefs and goals of the Organization, pursuing the goals of disseminating the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the territory of the city of Porkhov, Pskov Region, they organized, directed and took part in the activities of its structural unit “Jehovah’s Witnesses of Porkhov.”

Criminal case number:

11907580001000018

Initiated:

March 28, 2019

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigates:

Federal Security Service of Russia for the Pskov region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-28/2023 (1-120/2022)

Court:

Porkhovsky District Court of the Pskov Region

Judge:

Kapustina Natalya


In the photo: Alexey Khabarov near the Porkhovsky District Court of the Pskov Region, October 2020.

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