In the photo: Nikolay Aliyev
Appeal in Khabarovsk Upholds the Verdict for Faith to 42-Year-Old Nikolay Aliyev
Khabarovsk TerritoryOn September 2, 2021, the Khabarovsk Regional Court upheld the sentence for faith handed down to Nikolay Aliyev — 4.5 years of probation. The verdict entered into force, but it can be appealed in cassation and international instances.
On June 4, 2021, the Central District Court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur passed a guilty verdict on Nikolay Aliyev. The believer appealed this decision to the appellate instance. According to Aliyev, his convictions are incomparable with extremism.
“At first it was hard to believe that this (criminal prosecution — ed.) Is actually happening to me. It seemed that it was some kind of scary movie that never ends,— says Nikolay, adding that God and fellow believers help him not to get angry. — In winter, fellow believers came to the courthouse before the trial to support me. When the hearing was held behind closed doors, many of them stood in the cold for one and a half to two hours and waited for the trial to end and I leave."
Although the Supreme Court did not prohibit Jehovah's Witnesses from practicing this religion, already 20 believers from the Khabarovsk Territory have been prosecuted.
The joint statement of the OSCE participating States on July 28, 2020 concerning the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation noted: “We have repeatedly heard from the Russian delegation at meetings of the Permanent Council that Jehovah's Witnesses profess and can continue to profess their faith freely. and freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Russian Federation. However, we see numerous reports of searches, detentions and criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses [...] All people, including Jehovah's Witnesses, should be able to peacefully exercise their rights, including the right to freedom of religion, peaceful assembly and expression of their opinion without discrimination, like this guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and Russia's commitments to the OSCE and international law ”.