In the photo: Igor Tsarev with his wife and daughter on the day of the appeal. Birobidzhan, April 29, 2021

In the photo: Igor Tsarev with his wife and daughter on the day of the appeal. Birobidzhan, April 29, 2021

In the photo: Igor Tsarev with his wife and daughter on the day of the appeal. Birobidzhan, April 29, 2021

Unjust Verdicts

An appeal in Birobidzhan upheld the suspended sentence for Igor Tsarev, one of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jewish Autonomous Area

On April 29, 2021, the Jewish Autonomous Region Court upheld Birobidzhan-based Igor Tsarev's two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence with a year of the restriction of freedom and a probationary period of two years. The court determined that peaceful practicing of the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses to be participation in the activities of a banned organization.

A criminal case under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against the 46-year-old father of a minor child was initiated on July 30, 2019. The trial lasted almost 14 months, and on February 12, 2021, the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region sentenced Igor Tsarev to suspended imprisonment for continuing to read and discuss the Bible with others. The believer considered the verdict unfair and appealed against it.

During the appeal hearing, Igor Tsarev noted that neither the investigation nor the state prosecutor distinguished between the meetings of ordinary believers and the activities of prohibited associations, but focused on proving the believer's belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses, which no one hid. “So it turned out: if I profess the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses, then I am an extremist, albeit without extremism, a criminal without a real crime. What other conclusion can be drawn when only one conclusion suggests itself? I am on trial for my faith in God, ”said the believer to the panel of judges.

Nevertheless, the appellate instance upheld the decision of the lower court unchanged. The verdict entered into force, but the believer can appeal against it in cassation procedure, as well as in international instances.

The Jewish Autonomous Region holds the record for the number of cases filed against Jehovah's Witnesses. Igor Tsarev is one of 23 residents of Birobidzhan persecuted for their faith.

Russian human rights activists and the world community consider it unauthorized to prosecute Jehovah's Witnesses for the faith. Jean-Marie Delarue, member of the French Council of State and former director of civil liberties at the French Ministry of the Interior, says: “I believe that a democratic society should clearly define what it means to violate public order, to harm the common interest. A democratic country can blame and condemn someone in clear terms. Extremism is an obscure concept. Each of us will always be an 'extremist' for someone."

Case of Tsarev in Birobidzhan

Case History
In February 2021, Igor Tsarev, the father of a minor child, was given a 2.5-year suspended sentence. A believer from Birobidzhan was tried for participating in the activities of an extremist organization. The charges were based on video footage obtained by FSB officers during covert filming of a worship service. The criminal case was considered for more than a year by Judge Alexei Ivaschenko in the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region. Most of the court hearings were held behind closed doors, ostensibly with the aim of “securing the participants in the trial so that they do not adopt the religious beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Although in the debate the prosecutor acknowledged the right to freedom of religion, at the same time he claimed that Tsarev was allowed to believe “only within himself” and recommended a sentence of 4 years in prison. The Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict. In June 2022, Judge Yulia Tsykina overturned the current sentence and expunged the conviction of the believer.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, “in order to extend the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses by improving the skills of preaching and other religious activities, they studied ... the publication of Jehovah's Witnesses ‘The Holy Scriptures / New World Translation’, recognized as extremist”
Court case number:
11907990001000009
Initiated:
July 30, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Russian Federal Security Office for Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-10/2021 (1-47/2020; 1-623/2019)
Court:
Биробиджанский районный суд ЕАО
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Алексей Иващенко
Case History
Back to top