Three Jehovah's Witnesses from Novocherkassk Sentenced to Up to Six and a Half Years in a Penal Colony for Their Beliefs

 RUSSIA 

Three Jehovah's Witnesses from Novocherkassk Sentenced to Up to Six and a Half Years in a Penal Colony for Their Beliefs

June 27, 2024 Rostov Region

On June 26, 2024, Nikolay Egorov, judge of the Novocherkassk City Court of the Rostov Region, sentenced Lubov Galitsina to 2 years and 3 months, Gevorg Yeritsyan to 6 years and 2 months, and Garegin Khachaturyan to 6.5 years in a penal colony. The court considered the term assigned to Galitsina to have already been served, she will remain at large.

In August 2022, Investigative Committee investigator V. V. Bardakov opened a criminal case against three believers. The men were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and the woman was accused of participating in it. On the same day, their homes were searched. All three were interrogated and detained. The law enforcement officers considered the meetings for worship, which were held using the Zoom program, to be a continuation of the activities of the banned local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Novocherkassk by the Supreme Court of Russia in 2017. Khachaturyan and Yeritsyan spent almost 2 years in a pre-trial detention center, and Galitsina was imprisoned for more than a year, after which she was released under house arrest.

In the pre-trial detention center, the woman's diabetes mellitus and hypertension worsened, as well as her vision and hearing deteriorated. The believer repeatedly appealed to the administration of the institution with a request to conduct a medical examination, but for a long time she was refused. Then the staff of the institution did not allow the doctor who arrived to see her. In the end, Lubov was visited by a representative of the Ministry of Health, who conducted an examination on the spot that was available for the conditions of the pre-trial detention center.

Believers are grateful to friends and relatives for their support. They were especially encouraged when they came and even came from different cities to court hearings. They were also strengthened by letters from fellow believers from all over the world.

Speaking at one of the court hearings, Lubov Galitsyna, 68, noted: "Disobedience to the laws of the state is a protest against God himself, which is completely unacceptable for me as a believer." Gevorg Yeritsyan, 37, said: "Love is the basis of my faith." Garegin Khachaturyan, 56, quoted the words of Jesus Christ: "Love even your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Then he said, "For me, these are not just words, but a guide to action — in the family, in the community, with the neighbors."

In the Rostov region, 18 Jehovah's Witnesses were convicted for their faith, 10 of them are serving their sentences in penal colonies.

The case of Yeritsyan and Others in Novocherkassk

Case History

In the early morning of August 2022, the homes of local Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched in Novocherkassk and the village of Grushevskaya. Half an hour before the start of the searches, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Gevorg Yeritsyan, Garegin Khachaturyan and Lyubov Galitsyna on charges of extremism. The men were interrogated and placed in a pre-trial detention center. A few days later, Lyubov was also behind bars. She spent more than a year in a pre-trial detention center, after which she was released under house arrest. Hearings in the case began in September 2023.

Criminal case

Region:

Rostov Region

Locality:

Novocherkassk

Court case number:

12202600015000047

Case initiated:

August 11, 2022

Current case stage:

Verdict did not take effect

Investigating:

Novocherkassk Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov Region

Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:

282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)

Court case number:

1-28/2024 (1-451/2023)

Court of First Instance:

Novocherkassk City Court of the Rostov Region

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Nikolay Egorov