Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

The Komi Republic Has Become the 53rd Region of Russia Where Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Persecuted. A Series of Searches Took Place in the Town of Pechora

Komi

In the early morning of January 28, 2020, in the city of Pechora (Komi), groups of law enforcement officers, in some cases numbering 7 people, searched and detained local residents who are suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The details of what is happening are being clarified.

The Case of Polyakevich and Others in Pechora

Case History
In January 2020, law enforcement officers searched 12 houses in Pechora. Several people were detained, including Gennadiy Polyakevich and Gennadiy Skutelets. On the same day, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against them for extremism. The court sent Polyakevich to a pretrial detention center, where he spent 301 days, and placed Skutelets under house arrest for 364 days. In November 2020, another investigator of the Investigative Committee initiated a new criminal case against Nikolay Anufriyev, Eduard Merinkov, Aleksandr Vorontsov, and Aleksandr Prilepskiy. They were placed under arecognizance agreements. The case went to court in May 2021, and 8 months later it was returned to the prosecutor. In December 2022, at the age of 58, Aleksandr Prilepskiy died from the consequences of COVID-19. In April 2023, the case went to court again. The court issued a verdict 1 year and 2 months later - fines from 200,000 to 600,000 rubles. Aleksandr Prilepskiy was found guilty posthumously.
Timeline

Persons in case

Anufriyev
Nikolay
Merinkov
Eduard
Polyakevich
Gennadiy
Prilepskiy
Aleksandr
Skutelets
Gennadiy
Vorontsov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Komi
Locality:
Pechora
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "organized and conducted meetings... supervised the process of presentations, reading religious texts, talks... collected donations... gave instructions for the implementation of the field ministry"
Court case number:
12002870035000003
Initiated:
January 28, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Komi Republic
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-7/2024 (1-174/2023; 1-6/2022; 1-205/2021)
Court:
Pechora City Court of the Komi Republic
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Aleksey Korovenko
Case History
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