The Second Case of Terebilov in Kostroma

E. A. Sizov, senior investigator of the Investigative Committee for the central district of Kostroma, initiates a criminal case under Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against Dmitry Terebilov, who is being held in correctional colony No. 1 in the Kostroma region.

The decision to institute criminal proceedings states that a believer serving time in a strict regime colony for his beliefs, "while in the above-mentioned institution, involved the convicts ... into the activities of an extremist organization." This is how the investigator interpreted the fact that Dmitriy answered questions from a cellmate about the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

It becomes known that the prisoner, who pretended to be interested in the Bible, is cooperating with the investigation. A confrontation is held between him and Terebilov.

It also turns out that a psychiatric and psychological-linguistic examination was carried out in the case, and it is also planned to conduct another one - religious and cultural studies. The psychiatric examination includes the testimony of a witness with whom, according to Terebilov, he is not familiar.

Dmitry Terebilov is transferred from the colony to pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Kostroma region.

The investigator summons Dmitry for questioning as a suspect. The investigation is trying to find out whether the voice on the audio recordings obtained during the operational-search activities belongs to him. The believer refuses to testify. The investigator presents Terebilov with a decision on the appointment of a forensic historical and religious examination.

The investigator continues to interrogate Dmitry Terebilov and charges him under Article 282.2 (1.1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. He presents the conclusion of a historical and religious examination, in which an expert - a historian and a teacher by profession - makes a conclusion not of a specialized, but of a legal nature and states that Terebilov involved others in the activities of a banned extremist organization. The defence is requesting the disqualification of the expert.

During the interrogation, the investigator presents Terebilov with letters, notebooks, photographs, postcards, which were previously seized from the believer without his personal presence in order to find out whether these are his belongings.

Terebilov's second case goes to the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma, which considered the first case against the believer. This time the judge is Dmitry Gorokhov.

The court is interrogating several convicts who served their sentences in IK-1 in the Kostroma region together with Terebilov. During the interrogation of one of the witnesses, discrepancies with the testimony recorded by the investigator are revealed.

An employee of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Kostroma Region, A. A. Sokolov, who at the time of the ORM worked in the FSB, is being interrogated. He believes that Terebilov can show what is written in the Bible, but interpretation already violates the law. In his opinion, the goal of the law enforcement system is to force Terebilov to abandon his beliefs and stop preaching.

Another prosecution witness, Roman Lazarev, whose testimony formed the basis of the criminal case against Terebilov, was serving his sentence in the same colony as the believer. Lazarev says that the believer encouraged him to get rid of bad habits.

Dmitry Terebilov states that Roman Lazarev himself expressed a desire to communicate with him and at the same time, as it turned out, kept an audio recording of all conversations starting from the very first one.

Commenting on Lazarev's testimony that he urged him to stop smoking and swearing, Dmitriy says: "Since when has it become a sign of involvement in a religious organization to tell a person that the Bible condemns smoking and swearing?"

Terebilov also notes that the investigation considered letters from sympathetic people as evidence of his guilt. "What is criminal in sharing one's thoughts about God, discussing some passage from the Bible, some scientific or historical fact?" he asks the court. He quotes the words of the censor of the colony, who was previously interrogated in court: "I myself was interested in some articles about animals and miracles. The letters did not contain any calls to incite hatred and enmity. There were no insults. All the letters were friendly."

The believer participates in hearings in two courts. At 9 a.m., the Kostroma Regional Court considers the believer's complaint about the extension of his detention. The measure of restraint remains the same.

Less than an hour later, Dmitriy is already participating in a session of the district court, where he continues to testify.

The prosecutor asks the court to find the believer guilty and sentence him to 10 years in a strict regime colony.

Dmitriy Terebilov makes his final statement.

Dmitriy has been held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Kostroma region since August 2024, and during this time he has been transferred to different cells more than ten times. He is currently being held in a cell with two other prisoners, with whom he has good relations.

The Kostroma Regional Court reduces the term assigned to Terebilov by 2 months - the believer will have to serve about 5 years in a maximum security colony. The verdict comes into force.

The lawyer in the appeal emphasizes that his client cannot be accused of participating in the activities of any organization, since he is already isolated from society. According to the defense, correspondence with fellow believers, which was censored, also cannot indicate participation in an extremist organization — the letters seized from Terebilov contained historical and scientific facts about natural phenomena, animals, quotes from the Bible and words of support.

Dmitriy himself notes in his complaint: "The verdict is unfair... Nowhere, neither in the criminal case itself, nor in the court, is there a single excerpt of a conversation propagating extremist ideas... The interrogated witnesses did not point to a single statement of mine that humiliated anyone's dignity."