Vitaliy Popov with his wife outside the courthouse, Novosibirsk, April 2021

Vitaliy Popov with his wife outside the courthouse, Novosibirsk, April 2021

Vitaliy Popov with his wife outside the courthouse, Novosibirsk, April 2021

Unjust Verdicts

54-year-old Vitaliy Popov Received 3 Years of Suspended Sentence. The Second Resident of Novosibirsk Suffered for Faith in Jehovah

Novosibirsk Region

On May 21, 2021, Natalya Devyatko, a judge of the Lenin District Court of Novosibirsk, found Vitaliy Popov guilty under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 and part 1 of Art. 282.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation and financing of the activities of an extremist organization). He was sentenced to 3 years of suspended sentence.

The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed. The believer insists on his complete innocence.

Although there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor recommended to the court that Vitaliy Popov be sentenced to 6 years in prison in a general regime colony.

On June 27, 2019, a criminal case was initiated against him, which was investigated by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Novosibirsk Region. Vitaliy Popov spent 2 days in the temporary detention facility, then was under recognizance agreement.

Due to criminal prosecution, the believer lost his job in an educational institution. According to Vitaliy's wife, former colleagues took his dismissal painfully. The believer says: “They set up an economic blockade for me, blocking my account on the card and adding me to the list of extremists. Then, two months later, they called at my workplace and forced my employer to fire me of my own free will, although the director clearly did not want to let me go. As a result, I lost my job and cannot get a job because of a criminal case. At first I tried to earn extra money, but when the trials began about twice a week, I could no longer take care of the material needs of my family.”

Vitaliy Popov in the courtroom on the day of the verdict
Vitaliy Popov in the courtroom on the day of the verdict
Vitaliy Popov with his wife near the courthouse
Vitaliy Popov with his wife near the courthouse
Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk
Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk

It took almost a year to collect evidence of the believer's “guilt”. During this time, he faced psychological pressure: during a four-hour interrogation, the investigator for especially important cases A. Bryuzgin tried to force him to incriminate himself. “The investigator constantly pressed on me, rushed me so that I could read 22 volumes in a week [about 5000 pages], provoked me to self-incrimination,” Vitaliy recalls. Through the efforts of the same investigator, another resident of Novosibirsk, 67-year-old Yuriy Savelyev, was sentenced to six years in prison for his faith.

On June 18, 2020, the case against Vitaliy Popov was transferred to the court for consideration by judge Irina Tsygankova. On August 13, the state prosecutor challenged her on the grounds that earlier, under her chairmanship, court decisions had been taken in the criminal case of Yuriy Savelyev. The court agreed with the arguments of the prosecution and granted the motion to challenge Tsygankova. The case was referred to Judge Natalya Devyatko.

Vitaliy Popov, even during the investigation, stated that he did not plead guilty and considered the criminal case against him as repressions for his faith, since his religion was the only reason for the persecution.

“Your Honor, I cannot understand what is my fault?” said the believer in his last word. “The fact that I love to read the Bible together with my fellow believers and live according to it, share with others what I learned from it—this is my constitutional right, and I just practiced this right. Someone may agree or disagree with Jehovah's Witnesses’ beliefs, but that is another matter. The Russian Federation is a multi-confessional country, and many religions are taught in different ways and May contradict each other, but this is not a reason to consider them extremists.”

The same opinion was expressed by Russian and foreign human rights activists. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses “do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually.”

Case of Popov and Eremeev in Novosibirsk

Case History
In June 2019, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against Vitaly Popov, an electrician and welder from Novosibirsk, accusing him of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and collecting donations. During the interrogation, the investigator for especially important cases Bryuzgin tried to force Popov to self-incrimination. After a call from law enforcement officers to Vitaliy’s employer, he was forced to write a letter of resignation. According to the director, she was told that “there is no place for an extremist in an educational institution.” Since May 2020, Vitaliy has been under recognizance not to leave. Since July 2020, the believer has been defending his religious beliefs in the Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk. Prosecution witnesses characterized Popov positively. The prosecutor asked for a punishment of 6 years in prison for the believer. In May 2021, Judge Natalia Devyatko sentenced Vitaliy Popov to 3 years probation. The Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Novosibirsk Region
Locality:
Novosibirsk
Suspected of:
According to the investigation they “participated in the conducting of collective religious services, teaching the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, methods of disseminating the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses among citizens, raised funds in the form of donations”
Court case number:
11902500019000017
Initiated:
June 27, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Nizhniy Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-16/2021 (1-445/2020)
Court of First Instance:
Ленинский районный суд г. Новосибирска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Наталья Девятко
[i18n] Суд апелляционной инстанции:
Новосибирский областной суд
Case History
Back to top