In Primorye, Three Jehovah's Witnesses Received From Three to Six and a Half Years in Prison for Their Beliefs

 RUSSIA 

In Primorye, Three Jehovah's Witnesses Received From Three to Six and a Half Years in Prison for Their Beliefs

July 10, 2024 Primorye Territory

Natalia Sharapova, 51, labor veteran Boris Andreyev, 72, and Anatoliy Li, 39, received three, six and six and a half years in prison, respectively — on June 10, 2024, Tatyana Pogorelaya, judge of the Khorolsky District Court of the Primoriye Territory, found them guilty of extremism for believing in Jehovah God.

Searches in the village of Yaroslavskoye, where believers live, took place in October 2022. Andreyev and Li were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and Natalia Sharapova was accused of participating in this activity. This is how law enforcement officers described the holding of peaceful worship services and the "organization of religious performances" at them. The case was based on video recordings of peaceful worship, secretly made by a woman who appears in the case under the pseudonym "Yolka".

Anatoliy Li drew the court's attention to the fact that the psychological and linguistic examination stated that there were no signs of extremism in his actions and the actions of other defendants. "This was also confirmed by all the interrogated witnesses, who directly indicated that I had never incited anyone to hatred or enmity, had not called for illegal actions against any religious or other group of people," Anatoliy added. The believers do not agree with the court's decision and can appeal it.

All three believers were sent to a pre-trial detention center, where they remained until the verdict was passed. Natalia Sharapova suffers from a neurological disease and suffers from headaches, which made her confinement to the detention center particularly difficult. During the first months of their imprisonment, the investigator did not give Sharapova and Li permission to get visited by their relatives, but letters helped them a lot.

Boris Andreyev is one of the oldest Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia who is behind bars. A total of 58 Jehovah's Witnesses are being persecuted for their faith in Primorye Territory, five of them have already been sent to a penal colony, and 27 have been given suspended sentences.

The case of Andreev and others in Yaroslavsky

Case History

In October 2022, law enforcement officers conducted searches at 12 addresses of believers in the village of Yaroslavskoye in Primorye. Earlier, a case was initiated against Anatoliy Li and unidentified persons under the article on involvement in the activities of an extremist organization. Later, the charge was reclassified as organizing and participating in such activities. As part of this case, Anatoliy Li himself and two other believers, Boris Andreyev and Natalia Sharapova, ended up in the pre-trial detention center. The accusation was based on video recordings of worship services in which believers talked about their faith, sang religious songs glorifying God and Jesus Christ, and offered prayers to God. The case went to court in September 2023. After nine months, the believers received suspended sentences ranging from three to six and a half years.

Criminal case

Region:

Primorye Territory

Locality:

Yaroslavsky

Court case number:

12202050023000021

Case initiated:

October 3, 2022

Current case stage:

Verdict did not take effect

Investigating:

Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorsky Territory

Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:

282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-8/2024 (1-183/2023)

Court of First Instance:

Khorolsky District Court of Primorsky Krai

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Tatiana Pogorelaya