Court of Cassation Upholds the Guilty Verdict for Faith of Miner Valery Vyaznikov

 RUSSIA 


Court of Cassation Upholds the Guilty Verdict for Faith of Miner Valery Vyaznikov

August 27, 2024 Primorye Territory


The Ninth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Vladivostok did not satisfy Valery Vyaznikov's cassation appeal against the verdict. On August 20, 2024, the panel of judges decided to leave the sentence unchanged - 2.5 years suspended for talking about God.


Speaking before the court, Valeriy expressed his disagreement with the verdict and the appeal ruling. He said: "I was actually sentenced for being one of Jehovah's Witnesses, not for doing anything illegal. The basis of the criminal case was the fact that the only time I was present at a discussion of the Bible with a person who was interested in this book... I just wanted the person I had a conversation with to get accurate knowledge from the Bible... and find peace of mind."


Already 58 Jehovah's Witnesses from Primorye Territory, including Valery Vyaznikov, have faced criminal prosecution for their faith. It is more than in any other region of the Russian Federation.


The Case of Vyaznikov in Luchegorsk


Case History


In September 2018, law enforcement officers began operational-search measures against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Luchegorsk. An embedded operative, feigning an interest in the Bible, recorded his conversations with believers. In July 2021, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case in which it accused Valery Vyaznikov from the village of Chegdomyn of extremism because he had discussed the Bible with others. In December 2022, the case was transferred to a court located 1,000 kilometers away from the believer’s place of residence. He was allowed to participate in most of the meetings via videoconferencing. In November 2023, the court sentenced Vyaznikov to 2.5 years of suspended sentence, then the appeal and cassation upheld this decision.


Criminal case


Region:

Primorye Territory

Locality:

Luchegorsk

Suspected of:

"involved a resident of Luchegorsk in the activities of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses";

Court case number:

42202050012000036

Case initiated:

July 16, 2021

Current case stage:

The verdict entered into force

Investigating:

Investigative Department for Dalnerechensk of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Primorsky Territory

Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-88/2023 (1-317/2022)

Court of First Instance:

Pozharsky District Court of Primorsky Krai

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Nina Kalashnik 

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