Criminal Investigation and Trial

In Bashkiria, a believer was sent to a pre-trial detention center for 52 days

Bashkortostan

During the mass searches that took place in Ufa on April 10, 2018, one of the local residents, 32-year-old Anatoliy Vilitkevich, was arrested. He is charged under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of an extremist organization) due to the fact that he allegedly professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On April 12, 2018, Larisa Mokhova, judge of the Leninsky District Court of Ufa, issued a decision on the election of a preventive measure for Anatoly Vilitkevich in the form of detention until June 2, 2018 inclusive. At the same time, the court ignored a number of legal requirements, for example, it did not indicate in its decision why it was impossible to choose a milder measure, and also did not check the validity of Anatoly Vilitkevich's involvement in the crime imputed to him.

On April 16, 2018, Anatoliy Vilitkevich's lawyers filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan against the court's decision to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention. On April 19, 2018, during the appeal hearing in the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the decision to detain the believer was upheld.

The arrest was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, which imposed a ban on the activities of all registered legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the association in Ufa. The decision of the Supreme Court is appealed to the ECHR as a matter of priority.

The Case of Vilitkevich in Ufa

Case History
Anatoliy Vilitkevich became one of the first Jehovah’s Witnesses who was imprisoned for his faith. After a series of searches conducted at the homes of believers in Ufa in April 2018, Vilitkevich was placed in a pretrial detention center for 2 months. The arrest was preceded by surveillance: in the apartment where he lives with his wife, the special forces installed hidden video cameras. For friendly meetings and discussing spiritual topics with friends, Vilitkevich was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The case was considered in the Leninskiy District Court of Ufa from October 2020. At the hearings, some witnesses for the prosecution did not recognize the believer, and those who know him, expressed disagreement with the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The prosecutor requested the court sentence Vilitkevich to 7 years in a penal colony. On September 27, 2021, judge Oksana Ilalova gave him a 2-year suspended sentence with a 3-year probation period and restriction of freedom for 6 months. On December 16, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan upheld the verdict. In March 2026, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) ruled that Russia had violated the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Ufa and ordered the Russian Federation to pay compensation.
Timeline

Persons in case

Vilitkevich
Anatoliy

Criminal case

Region:
Bashkortostan
Locality:
Ufa
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in meetings for worship, which is interpreted as participating in the activity of an extremist organisation (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802800004000045
Initiated:
April 2, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Leninskiy Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Bashkortostan
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-16/2021 (1-235/2020)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Ufa of the Republic of Bashkortostan
Judge:
Oksana Ilalova
Case History
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