The Appeal in Yaroslavl Reduced the Suspended Sentence of Petr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin by 4 Years

 RUSSIA 


The Appeal in Yaroslavl Reduced the Suspended Sentence of Petr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin by 4 Years

November 3, 2023 Yaroslavl Region


On October 30, 2023, the judicial board of the Yaroslavl Regional Court commuted the sentences of Petr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin, sentencing them to 2.5 years instead of 6.5 years suspended. For the Kuznetsovs, the suspended sentence of 2.5 years remained the same.


The reason for commuting the sentence of Filiznov and Vyushin was the fact that the court reclassified the criminal article imputed to them from Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to Part 2 of Article 282.2. Now believers are found guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization, and not of organizing such activities. The court considered biblical discussions and prayers, including videoconferencing, a crime. The verdict has entered into force, but believers can appeal it in cassation.


The defendants' appeal stated: "In the present criminal case, during the trial, the court could be convinced that the actions and statements of the convicts ... are exclusively peaceful in nature and do not indicate the presence of hatred or enmity. [...] None of the actions listed in this article (of the Criminal Code) was committed by any of the convicts in the present criminal case. All the prosecution witnesses questioned during the trial confirmed this."


Speaking about the examination, which formed the basis of the charges, the defense stated that "the expert's conclusions only made it possible to establish the peculiarities of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and, on the basis of this, to identify the religious affiliation of the convicts." The defense also drew attention to the fact that "the court imposes a ban on the practice of faith, religion, which violates basic constitutional and international human rights" and that "the law does not recognize as a sign of extremism the dissemination and confession, including together with fellow believers, of the religion to which the liquidated religious associations belonged."


The case of Filiznov and others in Yaroslavl


Brief history of the case


In April 2021, the investigation initiated a criminal case under an article for extremism against Andrey Vyushin, Petr Filiznov, as well as the couple Aleksandr and Mariya Kuznetsov. They were suspected of holding meetings for worship “including through the Internet, in which [they] promoted forbidden teachings”. The law enforcement officers conducted searches in Yaroslavl and neighboring Rybinsk, after which 4 believers were placed in a detention center. After 3 months, the court released them under a ban on certain actions. Vyushin was fitted with a tracking bracelet on his leg, and a control device was installed in his apartment, although his preventive measure did not prohibit him from leaving his home or being in certain places. In August 2022, the case went to court. After 11 months, the believers were sentenced: Andrey Vyushin and Petr Filiznov were given 6.5 years suspended and Aleksandr and Mariya Kuznetsov – 2.5 years.


Criminal case


Region:

Yaroslavl Region

Locality:

Yaroslavl

What is suspected:

held religious meetings “including with the help of the Internet, within the framework of which [they] propagated prohibited teachings” (from the press release of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Yaroslavl Region)

Criminal case number:

12102780014000004

Initiated:

April 12, 2021

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigates:

Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Yaroslavl Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)

Court case number:

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

Court of First Instance:

Dzerzhinsky District Court of Yaroslavl

Judge of the trial court:

Irina Vlasova


In the photo: Pyotr Filiznov and Andrey Vyushin near the court building, July 2023, Yaroslavl.

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