In Sergiev Posad, the elders of the Jehovah's Witnesses community were again acquitted

The retrial of the case of Vyacheslav Stepanov and Andrei Sivak ended in their acquittal.

On June 21, 2017, the Sergiev Posad City Court of the Moscow Region completed a retrial of the case of the elders of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses Vyacheslav Stepanov and Andrey Sivak, who were accused of inciting religious hatred committed by an organized group (clause "c" part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code). The defendants were acquitted. However, the prosecutor's office again appealed the verdict.

Criminal case under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code against Stepanov and Sivak was initiated in April 2013. Believers were accused of making statements during meetings that incited religious hatred, in particular, citing banned brochures of Jehovah's Witnesses "What the Bible Really Teaches" and "Draw Close to Jehovah" containing negative characteristics of other religions, including " traditional Christianity and Christian clergy, and calling to join the Jehovah's Witnesses.

As early as March 2016, the Sergiev Posad City Court concluded that Stepanov and Sivak were innocent, finding no signs of inciting hatred in their statements and noting significant violations during the examinations at the preliminary investigation stage. However, in May 2016, the Moscow Regional Court issued an appeal ruling, which overturned the verdict and sent the case back for a new trial.

We regard the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses for extremism as religious discrimination.

Sources

• The court acquitted the elders of Sergiev Posad, rejecting the unfounded claims of the prosecutor's office // Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. 2017. July 4.