In Crimea, One More Jehovah's Witness Convicted for His Faith. Artem Gerasimov Fined RUB 400,000

On March 5, 2020, the judge of the Yalta City Court, Vladimir Romanenko, sentenced Artyom Gerasimov to a fine of 400 thousand rubles for talking to people about God. The prosecution demanded 6.5 years in prison for him. The believer himself considers the sentence unfair.

Artyom Gerasimov was accused of organizing the activities of a banned organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The criminal case was opened on March 15, 2019, a few days later a series of searches were carried out in Yalta, Gurzuf and Alupka.

"Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Russian Constitution, but the fact that law enforcement officers and courts will follow it is not guaranteed by anyone - such a conclusion suggests itself from the court's decision," Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, comments on the situation. - The Russian government, including the Ministry of Justice, has repeatedly stated that the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited. However, this is the 30th conviction of Jehovah's Witnesses. How many more such sentences will it take to stop the persecution of peaceful, law-abiding citizens?"

On the same day, in Dzhankoy, the court sentenced Sergey Filatov to 6 years in a general regime colony. The third criminal case is being investigated in Sevastopol, the accused Viktor Stashevsky is under recognizance not to leave.