Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In Izhevsk, a Series of Raids Took Place in Homes of Jehovah's Witnesses. Two People Sent to Jail for Their Faith

Udmurtia

On April 14, 2021, at least 12 addresses of Jehovah's Witnesses were searched in Izhevsk (Udmurtia). 6 men between the ages of 31 and 56 were detained, two were taken into custody. The believers are accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of extremist activities).

During a search in the house of 56-year-old Petr Matsola, the security forces "found" a Bible included in the list of extremist materials, but the believer said that this book did not belong to him. According to him, even before the start of the search, in his absence, officers of the FSB and another special service entered his house. Electronic devices, bank cards, postcards and personal records were seized from Petr.

The next day, Maksim Derendyaev, 35, and Aleksandr Kutin, 38, were taken into custody. Sergey Ashikhmin, 47, was released without any preventive measure due to his health condition.

Update. It became known that the searches of believers were carried out by officers of the FSB and the Investigative Committee. During the raid, 14 people were interrogated. During the 7-hour interrogation of Sergey Ashikhmin, senior investigator of the Investigative Committee, A. Yu. Rodionov, tried to find out his role and responsibilities in the Christian congregation, claiming that the investigation had a video recording of a divine service with Sergey’s participation. On April 16, the judge of the Industrial District Court of Izhevsk, Gulfiya Zamilova, imposed a ban on certain actions on Sergey Ashikhmin, taking into account the state of his health. The believer is forbidden to communicate with 13 witnesses in the criminal case.

Investigative actions were carried out by the investigator for especially important cases P. S. Marin. This is the second case against Jehovah's Witnesses in Udmurtia: in neighboring Votkinsk, two more peaceful believers have been persecuted since January 20, 2021. One of them is in SIZO No. 1 in Izhevsk.

The Case of Derendyaev and Others in Izhevsk

Case History
In the spring of 2021, a criminal case was initiated against three believers from Izhevsk for organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The next day, FSB and Investigative Committee officers conducted mass searches in the city and interrogated 14 people. Maksim Derendyaev and Aleksandr Kutin were detained and placed in a pretrial detention center, and Sergey Ashikhmin was banned from certain actions. Kutin was released under house arrest after 15 days, and Derendyaev after 3 months. In February 2022, the case against the three men went to court. It was based, among other things, on the testimony of secret witnesses. In May 2024, the court sentenced the believers to 3 years in a penal colony. In September, the court of appeal upheld the sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Ashikhmin
Sergey
Derendyaev
Maksim
Kutin
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Udmurtia
Locality:
Izhevsk
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, the believers agreed actions and coordinated their efforts to organize the preaching work and spreading the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses in Izhevsk
Court case number:
12102940001001701
Initiated:
April 13, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Udmurt Republic
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-7/2024 (1-18/2023; 1-233/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Pervomayskiy District Court of the City of Izhevsk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Marina Khokhryakova
Case History
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