In Kirov, the court overturned the seizure of the property of Jehovah's Witnesses

The Kirov Regional Court canceled the arrest of Anatoly Tokarev's apartment, imposed by the court of first instance.

On November 12, 2019, it became known that the Kirov Regional Court overturned the decision of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Kirov, which seized the apartment and garden of 60-year-old Anatoly Tokarev, a follower of the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. Later, the arrest was removed from the garden, but not from the apartment.

The court of second instance considered that the seizure of property cannot be considered necessary to pay a fine if Tokarev is found guilty, since the law provides for alternative types of punishment.

Recall that the criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization) against Tokarev was initiated in May 2019. The believer is suspected of having “organized… including in his apartment… meetings of the followers and participants of the specified assembly in compliance with the actions characteristic of this association, expressed in the joint singing of biblical songs… the study of religious literature, the so-called ‘Holy Scripture’ (Bible ), included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials Containing the Faith of Jehovah's Witnesses".

The accusation of Jehovah's Witnesses of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization is due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia decided to recognize the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist. We believe that this decision, which entailed the mass persecution of believers under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, had no legal grounds, and we regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination.

Sources

• Court of Appeal: It is illegal to seize property to ensure payment of a fine for faith. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. November 12, 2019