Criminal Investigation and Trial

The Court of Appeal in Birobidzhan released Alam Aliyev

Jewish Autonomous Area

On May 25, 2018, Judge Angela Sizova of the Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region issued an appeal ruling to "release from custody immediately in the courtroom" 55-year-old Alam Aliyev, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, who was sent to prison solely because of his faith! The believer spent 8 days in custody, from May 17, 2018, when a large-scale raid was carried out on the homes of local Jehovah's Witnesses.

Aliyev's fellow believers could not hold back tears of joy.

The Case of Aliyev and Others in Birobidzhan

Case History
In May 2018, a special FSB operation involving 150 officers took place in Birobidzhan under the code name "Judgment Day," marking the beginning of the persecution of more than 20 families of Jehovah's Witnesses. Alam Aliyev, Valeriy Kriger, Sergey Shulyarenko, and Dmitriy Zagulin were among those accused of extremism for holding religious services. They spent more than five months in pretrial detention. In December 2022, after more than two years of hearings, the court sentenced them to between 3.5 and 7 years in a penal colony. On appeal, the harshest of these sentences (given to Krieger) was reduced by three months. In September 2023, Sergey Shulyarenko was married while in the colony. Zagulin completed his sentence in the spring of 2026. The wives of three of the convicted men—Svetlana Monis, Tatyana Zagulina, and Natalya Kriger—were also subjected to criminal prosecution.
Timeline

Persons in case

Aliyev
Alam
Kriger
Valeriy
Shulyarenko
Sergey
Zagulin
Dmitriy

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, he together with others conducted meetings for worship, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the decision of the RF Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11807990001000008
Initiated:
May 14, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-8/2022 (1-65/2021; 1-609/2020)
Court:
Birobidzhanskiy District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge:
Yana Vladimirova
Case History
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