The Ordzhonikidze District Court of Perm imposed a fine of 350 thousand rubles on Jehovah's Witness Alexey Metzger under the article on participation in an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the publication “59.ru”.

Prosecutors requested a realistic three-year sentence for Metzger. According to the state prosecution, he persuaded people who wanted to leave the organization to stay, and was also engaged in “propaganda of the superiority of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion.”

Metzger himself did not admit guilt: “I was not a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, I have no relation to this legal entity, because it was the organization that was banned. Now I’m being judged for my faith, but no one banned it.”

According to the prosecutor, the issue of appealing the decision will be decided after “receiving and studying” a copy of the verdict. “The position of the court in this case did not coincide with the position of the prosecution,” the prosecutor said.

On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” as an extremist organization, liquidated it and banned its activities in Russia. In August, all Jehovah's Witnesses organizations were added to the list of prohibited organizations. After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began. In February 2019, the court handed down its first sentence with real imprisonment - Danish citizen Dennis Christensen was sentenced to six years in prison.

Perm court fines Jehovah's Witness 350 thousand rubles