The Krasnoyarsk Regional Court approved the sentence of Jehovah's Witness from Kodinsk

Earlier, believer Ildar Urazbakhtin was given a six-year suspended sentence.

On February 2, 2023, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court upheld the verdict against Jehovah's Witness from Kodinsk, Ildar Urazbakhtin, convicted under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).

On October 10, 2022, the Kezhemsky District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory sentenced the believer to six years of probation with a three-year probationary period and a year of restriction of liberty. The Jehovah's Witness was also prohibited from engaging in organizational activities in public and religious associations for three years.

The case against Urazbakhtin was opened in July 2021, the court placed the believer under house arrest. On September 20, the Jehovah's Witness had his measure of restraint mitigated by signing a written undertaking not to leave. On January 31, 2022, the Urazbakhtin case was submitted to the court for consideration on the merits. According to the investigation, which the court agreed with, Urazbakhtin organized videoconferences and meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses, where religious issues were discussed and the Bible was studied.

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 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. 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

• The Krasnoyarsk Regional Court approved a suspended sentence for Ildar Urazbakhtin from Kodinsk. He is convicted as an extremist for discussing the Bible. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2023. February 2.