The king of the north against Jehovah's people

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The king of the north against Jehovah's people

Vladimir Putin: “Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Also Christians. I Don’t Understand Either Why They?

02/08/2023

Boris Simonenko, 68, Was Given Two Years and Seven Months in Prison for Believing in Jehovah. The Court Considered That His Term Had Already Been Served.

On July 28, 2023, Dmitriy Kirillov, judge of the Kovrov City Court of the Vladimir Region, sentenced Boris Simonenko to 2 years and 7 months imprisonment. The period of his stay in a pre-trial detention center and of other preventive measures are counted toward this term. The believer remains at liberty, but a number of restrictions will apply to him during the next year.

The criminal prosecution of Simonenko, the first of three Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of Kovrov whom the FSB suspected of extremism, began in February 2021. Boris's house was searched. He was accused of organizing the activity of a liquidated religious association. This is how the investigation interpreted him giving Bible talks.

The elderly man was sent to a detention center, where he spent almost 5 months, 4 of which — in the "press cell" (a room where other people are planted specifically to put pressure on the arrested person) with two former police majors. One of them is Vasiliy Voskoboynikov, convicted of organizing torture in a detention center. Boris recalls: “They forbade me to lie down, sit, including at the table during meals, doused me with cold water at night, preventing me from sleeping, scattered my things and food, defaced my dishes and screamed constantly.” According to the believer, during this period he was greatly supported by letters from relatives and fellow believers from all over the world. In July 2021, Simonenko was placed under house arrest, and six months later, the preventive measure was changed to a ban on certain actions.

The prosecutor requested the court to imprison Boris Simonenko in a penal colony for 6 years. The charge against the believer was based on secret recordings of telephone conversations between him and his wife, as well as screenshots from a computer screen showing believers communicating with each other via video link. During the hearings, two fellow believers of Boris Simonenko — Aleksey Kupriyanov and Roman Adestov — were interrogated. Kupriyanov's case is being heard in the same court. In June 2023, Vasiliy Safronov, judge of that court, sentenced Adestov to a year in a penal colony.

In his final statement, Boris said: “[During the unfair criminal prosecution] my wife and I appreciated the support of loyal friends and God even more; we realized how happy we are. We don't feel like victims. On the contrary, my faith and the faith of my family have been strengthened.” He also shared, “The amazing endurance of our brothers and sisters greatly strengthens me. Especially the example of Valentina Baranovskaya, an elderly [woman] who withstood all [persecution] and emerged victorious. I realized that I'm also bound to endure.”

It is noteworthy that in June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights declared the liquidation of legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and the ban on their activities unlawful, and ruled to stop the criminal prosecution of believers and that those in prison be released.

25/07/2023

Sixty Nine Year Old, Yuriy Savelyev, Was Released from a Penal Colony in the City of Rubtsovsk!

On July 19, 2023, Yuriy Savelyev was released from penal colony No. 5 in the Altai Territory, he has fully served his sentence. Dozens of friends came to meet the believer.
Yuriy Savelyev, who is sixty nine years old and is one of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, whose criminal prosecution for his faith has been dragging on since 2017. The elderly believer was under covert video surveillance. In November 2018, a criminal case was initiated against Yuriy and in the same month the man ended up in a pre-trial detention center, where he stayed for more than two years until the verdict was passed. In December 2020, the court sentenced Savelyev to six years in penal colony. Since a day of detention in a pre-trial detention center is counted as one and a half in a general regime colony, Yuriy spent de facto 760 days (about two years) in a correctional facility after the verdict.
He served this term in Rubtsovsk. The administration of the colony, on far-fetched grounds, repeatedly put believer in the harsh conditions of detention, a punishment cell and a cell-type room. Yuriy spent a total of nine months in such conditions. In addition, the believer was sent for compulsory "medical treatment", which he did not need. In the fall of 2021, Yuriy's son have died. In the spring of 2023, Savelyev had severe case of pneumonia.
On March 25, 2023 Savelyev was supposed to leave the colony However, on the basis of a court order his detention was extended until July 19 of the same year. The defense does not agree with this decision and continues to appeal against it.
Despite these difficulties, Yuriy did not lose heart while waiting for the day of his release. According to him, prayer and reading the Bible were of great help. He was also encouraged by letters of support from all over the world: Savelyev received about 20,000 letters during his imprisonment.
So far, 126 of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have been sentenced to real prison terms for their faith, 69 of them were in prison. In total, more than 2,000 searches have already been carried out in Russia in the homes of believers and more than 730 people have faced criminal prosecution for their faith.

10/07/2023

"In the Dock — for Faith and Hope for the Future." Appeal in Khabarovsk Upheld the Conviction of Three Women.

On July 4, 2023, the Judicial Collegium of the Khabarovsk Regional Court partially granted the prosecutor's appeal against the sentence of Tatyana Svoboda, Elena Nesterova and Tatyana Bondarenko. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court of appeal imposed 1 year and 8 months of restriction of liberty. On July 4, 2023, the Judicial Collegium of the Khabarovsk Regional Court partially granted the prosecutor's appeal regarding the sentence of Tatyana Svoboda, Yelena Nesterova, and Tatyana Bondarenko. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court of appeal imposed 1 year and 8 months of restriction of liberty.

The women stated in the appeal that they were convicted as a result of miscarriage of justice "for professing Bible-based beliefs and peacefully practicing their Christian faith as Jehovah's Witnesses." They also noted: “The court of first instance did not take into account that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not ban the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and therefore erroneously ruled that any activity of individuals in connection with the practice of this religion is criminal and should be regarded as a continuation of the activities of the banned organization.”

Throughout the trial, the believers never denied being Jehovah's Witnesses and discussed Bible teachings with others. In their final speech, they explained that their goal was the peaceful expression of faith in God. Tatyana Svoboda said: "Only the name of my religion as one of Jehovah's Witness was the reason for the criminal prosecution." Yelena Nesterova added: “I don’t understand how a person who tries to live according to God’s standards can be considered a criminal? After all, it is they who help a person become better and kinder.”

The ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation states: “Contained in it [in Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation] the norm is aimed at protecting public relations that guarantee recognition and respect for the dignity of the individual, regardless of any physical or social characteristics, and establishes criminal liability not for any actions, but only for those that are committed with direct intent aimed at inciting hatred or enmity, humiliation of the dignity of a person or a group of persons”. In the case of Tatyana Svoboda and others, the court did not specify what kind of extremist actions the convicts had committed and did not provide evidence that they had the intent to commit a crime.

27/04/2023

A court in Nevinnomyssk declared a pensioner with a disability an extremist. For faith, Sergei Kuznetsov was given 6 years probation.

On April 18, 2023, the judge of the Nevinnomyssk city court, Yuri Vaskin, found Sergey Kuznetsov guilty of organizing an extremist organization for discussing the Bible with friends, praying together and singing songs, assigning him 6 years of suspended imprisonment. The prosecutor requested a longer suspended sentence - 8 years.

Sergei has been a disabled person of group I for more than 30 years, he has practically lost his sight, has hearing problems and can hardly move - the criminal prosecution has aggravated his condition. In November 2018, he was among those who were searched. A year later, the investigation department for Nevinnomyssk of the Investigative Committee of the Stavropol Territory opened a criminal case against Kuznetsov. They took a written undertaking not to leave the believer. He was also included in the “list of extremists” of Rosfinmonitoring, imposing restrictions on his accounts.

On August 5, 2022, the case went to court. The accusation against Sergei was based on the testimony of a secret witness - an FSB agent under the pseudonym Sidorov. “I could not even imagine that… I would be tried not for a crime, but for believing in the Creator,” Sergei Kuznetsov noted in his final speech. There are no facts of extremism presented in the case, there are no victims of the religious actions of the defendant. Here is how Kuznetsov himself commented: "It is impossible to combine the teachings of Christ and extremism, just as it is impossible to combine east and west."

Since 2018, there have been 6 convictions in criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Stavropol Territory, and another case against a believer is being considered by the court.

The European Court of Human Rights, in its decision, drew attention to the fact that “the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ... did not take into account ... what impact its decision on liquidation, prohibition and conversion of property in favor of the state will have on the rights of each of the 175,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, who were faced with a harsh and impossible choice: to reduce their religious activity to prayer in isolation, without the fellowship and support of fellow believers and without a place to worship, or face criminal prosecution on charges of “continuing the activities of an extremist organization” (§ 253).

24/04/2023

Seven Years in a Penal Colony for Discussing the Bible—A Court in the City of Akhtubinsk Rendered Its Decision Against Three of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On April 17, 2023, the Akhtubinsk District Court announced the verdict against Sergey Korolev, Rinat Kiramov and Sergey Kosyanenko. For discussing Bible topics with friends via videoconferencing, Judge Anatoly Proskurin found them guilty of extremism and sentenced each to seven years in a penal colony.

In addition to the main punishment, the court deprived the believers of the right to engage in activities related to directing or participating in the work of public organizations for a term of three years with restriction of freedom for a term of one year. Korolev, Kiramov and Kosyanenko insist that they are innocent, and they can appeal this verdict. Earlier, the prosecutor had requested that each be sentenced to eight years in a general regime penal colony.

The persecution of these believers began on November 9, 2021, when the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Astrakhan Region initiated a criminal case against them for organizing the activities of an extremist organization. After searches in the city of Akhtubinsk and Znamensk, security forces detained Korolev, Kiramov and Kosyanenko and placed them in a temporary detention center. Two days later, the court imposed the preventive measure of pre-trial detention. Later, the investigation brought additional charges against the believers—financing the activities of an extremist organization. All three have been behind bars for almost a year and a half.

At the end of October 2022, the case went to court. Twenty-two witnesses were interrogated. Not one of them provided evidence that the believers were involved in the crimes.

“Throughout the entire process, no evidence of what we are accused of has been provided,” emphasized Rinat Kiramov. "The case file states that I had a real opportunity to stop the unlawful activities of the congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses; really, it should be stated differently: 'Kiramov could have stopped worshiping Jehovah but did not do so; thus he committed a grave crime.'"

In his final statement, Sergey Korolev said that he was getting together with his friends simply to read the Bible, sing songs, and pray. “The law on combating extremist activity cannot be used to restrict the freedom of religion of peaceful people who are not extremists,” he told the court.

Since their detention began, the believers have already faced many difficulties, including deteriorating health. Sergey Kosyanenko, for example, was kept in a cell with a broken window for three weeks during winter. The whole time he had to wear a jacket, a hat, and gloves. The support of family and friends helps him to overcome these trials. Kosyanenko's wife, Olga, said: “We gave Sergey photographs of each member of our family—there are seven of us—and when he is sad, he looks at the photo, recalls the moment when it was taken, and imagines being with us. He has a very positive attitude." Those persecuted for their faith reported: “We received a lot of letters not only from Russia but also from different countries. Also, our fellow believers sent us packages and postcards with words of support.”

“The courts in the Astrakhan region showed particular bias and even hatred toward Jehovah's Witnesses. At the moment, guilty verdicts have already been rendered against eight believers in the region. And all of them, including two women, were sentenced to long terms in a penal colony,” said Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Roman Lunkin, Head of the Center for the Studies of Problems of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented on the guilty verdicts against believers in Russia: "Sadly, the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is based on a rather primitive, even domestic, logic: they simply are not liked by those in society who often know nothing about the doctrine and practice of Jehovah's Witnesses."

14/04/2023

In Moscow, a court sent five Jehovah's Witnesses to prison for terms ranging from 4 to 6 years.

On March 31, 2023, the judge of the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow, Evgenia Babinova, announced a cruel verdict: peace-loving, law-abiding Muscovites are sent for long periods to a penal colony just for their faith. The court sentenced 67-year-old Ivan Chaikovsky, 47-year-old Vitaly Komarov, 59-year-old Yuri Chernyshev and 53-year-old Sergei Shatalov to 6 years and 3 months in prison, and the court appointed 51-year-old Vardan Zakaryan 4 years and 3 months in a colony.

All five convicts were taken into custody in the courtroom. They spent the last 2.5 years under house arrest, and for the first six months they were forbidden to communicate with their wives. Three out of five have minor children. Tchaikovsky, Komarov, Chernyshev and Shatalov were convicted under article 282.2 (1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - organizing the activities of a banned organization. Vardan Zakarian was found guilty of involving others in such an organization. The believers themselves claim that they exercised their right to freedom of religion and have nothing to do with extremism and a banned organization. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

There are no victims, damage to property and any facts of illegal actions or statements in the case. Nevertheless, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence the believers to 6 to 8 years in prison.

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