Photo: Vyacheslav Stepanov and Andrey Sivak
The court acquitted the elders of Sergiev Posad, rejecting the unfounded claims of the prosecutor's office
Moscow RegionDespite persistent attempts by the prosecutor's office to recognize the two peaceful believers as "extremists," the court acquitted them again with the right to rehabilitation.
On June 21, 2017, the Sergiev Posad City Court announced the verdict that acquitted Vyacheslav Stepanov and Andrey Sivak, Jehovah's Witnesses from Sergiev Posad (Moscow Region), who had been subjected to unfair criminal prosecution for 4 years. Earlier, on March 4, 2016, the court had already found these believers innocent, but at the request of the prosecutor's office, the criminal case was re-examined by another judge. Wanting to justify the long-term illegal persecution of believers, the prosecutor's office again appealed against the second acquittal!
Jehovah's Witnesses are far from any manifestations of extremism, they consider the persecution of believers on far-fetched charges to be repression.