The case of Jehovah's Witnesses from Prokopyevsk has been sent to court

Yuriy Chernykh is charged under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code.

On June 29, 2022, the investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Kemerovo Region announced the completion of the investigation into the case of a 47-year-old resident of Prokopyevsk, accused under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization). We are talking about the case of Jehovah's Witness Yuri Chernykh. It was sent to the court for consideration on the merits.

The case was opened in November 2021. Chernykh was a witness in the case of Andrey Vlasov .

According to investigators, in November 2019, Chernykh, knowing about the ban on the local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses Prokopyevsk, provided his house for meetings and participated in the online meetings of the organization, and also “he himself repeatedly explained to the followers the meaning and essence of the teachings that promote the activities of the religious extremist organization.

Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations were extremist. We believe that this decision, which entailed the mass persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, had no legal grounds and became a clear manifestation of religious discrimination. In June 2022, the ECHR issued a ruling on the complaint of Jehovah's Witnesses, in which it recognized that the ban on their materials and organizations and the persecution of believers are contrary to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and demanded that criminal cases be dropped under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code against Jehovah's Witnesses and release imprisoned believers.

Sources

• In the Kemerovo region - Kuzbass, a resident of the city of Prokopyevsk, accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, will appear before the court // Website of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region - Kuzbass. 2022. June 29.