Criminal Investigation and Trial

Two Jehovah's Witnesses detained in Moscow after the February 10 raids were placed in a detention center located in Verkhniye Polya

Moscow

On 12 February 2021, Dmitry Zozulya, Judge of the Savelovsky district court of Moscow, sent the peaceful believers Aleksander Serebryakov and Yuriy Temirbulatov to jail for two months, until 10 April 2021. The men will be kept in Detention Center #7.

Two days earlier a new wave of searches of Jehovah's Witnesses took place in Moscow and the Moscow region. In the early morning hours, at least 14 searches were conducted in the apartments of believers in Khovrino and the Levoberezhny district of Moscow, Khimki, and Chekhov. Several believers reported beatings.

It has become clear that operatives in 2019 established surveillance of believers and hidden video recording. The investigator believes that in August 2019, the believers held a friendly meeting at which they sang songs about God and read the Bible. In this regard, the investigation charges 43-year-old Aleksandr Serebryakov and 43-year-old Yuriy Temirbulatov with "committing an intentional grave crime," for which they face a sentence of 6 to 10 years in prison under Part 1 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organizing the activities of an organization banned by the court).

The court granted the petition of investigator Maria Rasskazova to choose the strictest measure of restraint for the believers in the form of detention. This decision was made even despite the fact that Aleksandr Serebryakov has an elderly disabled mother on his dependents. The suspects intend to appeal the unlawful court ruling.

Earlier, on November 24, 2020, five more residents exercising their constitutional right to freely practice their religion without forming a legal entity were detained in Moscow. Searches and detentions in Moscow and throughout the country are taking place despite calls from international organizations to end the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses and assurances from the authorities that the Jehovah's Witnesses faith is not banned in Russia.

The case of Serebryakov and Temirbulatov in Moscow

Case History
Since 2019, believers in Moscow have been under surveillance. In February 2021, officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the National Guard broke into 16 apartments of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Moscow and the Moscow Region. Some reported beatings and money going missing during the search. Alexandr Serebryakov and Yuriy Temirbulatov were put in detention, although Alexandr was taking care of his elderly disabled mother, and Yuriy, the father of three children, suffers from various illnesses and has a dependent mother-in-law who is disabled. While behind bars, Alexandr was seriously ill with COVID-19, and Yuriy underwent a serious operation (he had developed an oncological disease). The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation considered the reading of the Bible and the singing of religious songs as organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The case went to court in January 2022. In August 2022, the believers were given a 6 year suspended sentence, and in November 2022, the Appeal Court upheld this sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Serebryakov
Aleksandr
Temirbulatov
Yuriy

Criminal case

Region:
Moscow
Locality:
Moscow
Suspected of:
"in the period from 06.09.2027 to 10.02.2021, acting illegally and intentionally, pursuing the goal of spreading the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, organized the activities of the local religious division of the said organization" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case)
Court case number:
12102450011000009
Initiated:
February 10, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Department for Investigating Especially Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate for the Northern Administrative District of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the City of Moscow
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
01-0122/2022
Court:
Golovinskiy District Court of the City of Moscow
Judge:
Sergey Bazarov
Case History
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