Reached the court of Jehovah's Witnesses from Krasnoyarsk

Igor Gusev is charged under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code.

On June 30, 2022, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Krasnoyarsk received the case of Jehovah's Witness Igor Gusev, accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1, Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

The criminal case was initiated on February 17, 2022. According to investigators, Gusev "organized religious performances and services." In May 2020, he was interrogated as a witness in the case of another believer from Krasnoyarsk, Vitaly Sukhov; in December 2021, Sukhov was given a suspended sentence of six years in prison.

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 believers under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, had no legal grounds, and we regard it as a 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 Krasnoyarsk, a criminal case against Igor Gusev was submitted to the Zheleznodorozhny District Court for consideration. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2022. July 8.