Security forces completed an investigation into the case of participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code) against a Jehovah's Witness from Kovrov. This was reported by the press service of the Investigative Committee for the Vladimir region.
The case materials were transferred to the court for consideration on the merits.
According to the security forces, the accused was a member of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kovrov since 2009, and after the ban in 2017, he continued to participate in it until August 2023. According to the investigation, a man with the status of a ministerial servant participated in secret meetings and speeches by preachers.
The Investigative Committee does not provide the name of the person involved. Probably we are talking about Kovrov residents Alexander Popov, Mikhail Sveshnikov or another accused born in 1952. In August 2023, a case was opened against them for participation in an extremist organization and they were sent under house arrest. In December, the preventive measure for Popov and Sveshnikov was changed to a ban on certain actions, the Jehovah's Witnesses portal reported. Legal situation in Russia".
June 14 The third person involved in the case is named Oleg Sakun. This follows from information published on the website “Jehovah's Witnesses. Legal situation in Russia".
The man is currently under house arrest.
On July 16, the cases of two more Jehovah's Witnesses were transferred to the Kovrov City Court. This was reported by the regional Investigative Committee , as well as the Dovod publication.
Probably, the case of Oleg Sakun was the first to come to court; this became known back in May 2024. Now, apparently, the cases of believers Alexander Popov and Mikhail Sveshnikov have been brought to court.
“The accused have been members of the local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Kovrov for more than ten years. In 2017, by decision of the Supreme Court, the religious organization “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” and all local branches were liquidated due to extremist activities, the Investigative Committee wrote. —
Knowing this, the men, using methods of conspiracy, continued to participate in prohibited activities, including, having the status of “ministerial assistant,” they participated in organizing secret meetings and speeches of preachers, until in August 2023 the criminal activity was stopped by employees of the regional department of the FSB "
- In 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. All organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were included in the list of prohibited ones, after which a stream of criminal cases against believers began. Rosfinmonitoring has added hundreds of Russian followers of Jehovah's Witnesses to the list of “extremists and terrorists.” Most of the people on the list are believers between 40 and 60 years old.
- On June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights declared the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses organizations and the subsequent persecution of believers illegal. From the point of view of the ECHR, the decision to liquidate the organization and criminal cases against Jehovah’s Witnesses is based on an overly broad definition of “extremism”, which in Russian legislation “can be applied to absolutely peaceful forms of expression.”
- In October 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court clarified the application of “anti-extremist” legislation. The document, in particular, states that actions “consisting solely of the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including through individual or joint professing of religion, performing divine services or other religious rites and ceremonies, do not in themselves constitute a crime , provided for in Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (Participation in the activities of an extremist organization - OVD-Info ).” According to OVD-Info lawyer Tatyana Glushkova, these changes allow courts to terminate criminal cases brought against former members of liquidated religious organizations (for example, Jehovah's Witnesses).