Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In the Irkutsk Region, the Officials Conducts Searches in the Families of Jehovah's Witnesses

Irkutsk Region

On 4 October 2021, starting at 6:00 a.m., brigades of armed Rosgvardiya officers led by investigators surrounded the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Irkutsk and the village of Pivovarikha. At least nine searches are known to have been carried out at different addresses. Windows were broken in one of the houses.

Believers are detained for interrogation. Some were released. Among others, searches are being conducted in the family home of 52-year-old Yaroslav Kalin, as well as in the home of 63-year-old Nikolay Martynov. The news is being updated.

Update.

According to updated information, searches were carried out in 13 families of Jehovah's Witnesses. Six believers were sent to jail: 52-year-old Yaroslav Kalin, 34-year-old Mikhail Moish, 45-year-old Alexei Solnechny, 61-year-old Sergey Kosteev, 63-year-old Nikolai Martynov and 46-year-old Andrey Tolmachev. Another, 70-year-old Sergey Vasilyev, was placed under house arrest after 2 days behind bars.

The issue of choosing a preventive measure for the detained believers was decided in the Irkutsk court on October 5 and 6, 2021. On the first day, about 300 people gathered outside the courthouse, wishing to support their fellow believers. After a while, they were approached by women living nearby, who learned that there were believers in court. They brought hot tea with them to express their sympathy.

Photo: In Irkutsk, about 300 of their friends came to the courthouse, where the measure of restraint was chosen for 6 believers, to support them
Photo: In Irkutsk, about 300 of their friends came to the courthouse, where the measure of restraint was chosen for 6 believers, to support them

After 2017, followers of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are erroneously charged with crimes under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code, as investigators interpret ordinary religious practice as participation in the activities of an organization banned by the court. Often the victims of searches and detentions are also acquaintances, relatives of believers or even random persons taken for Jehovah's Witnesses by mistake.

Irkutsk Region became the 69th region in Russia where residents are criminally prosecuted for believing in Jehovah's God. Jehovah's Witnesses have lived in this area since the days of Operation "North", when they were victims of the largest confessional deportation in Soviet history. The believers were later rehabilitated, so the mass roundups and criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses in contemporary Russia are of concern to historians and legal scholars.

The Case of Martynov and Others in Irkutsk

Case History
In October 2021, a series of searches took place in Irkutsk and the Irkutsk Region, which were accompanied by assault and brutal beatings of peaceful the believers. Jehovah's Witnesses Yaroslav Kalin, Sergey Kosteyev, Nikolay Martynov, Mikhail Moysh, Aleksey Solnechny, Andrey Tolmachev, and Sergey Vasilyev were accused of extremism only for their faith. After searches and interrogations, they were detained; six of them were sent to a pretrial detention center and one was placed under house arrest. Two months later, law enforcement officers conducted two more searches: in the village of Askiz (Republic of Khakassia) in the home of Denis Sarazhakov and in the city of Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo Region) in the home of Igor Popov. Both of them were arrested, taken more than 1500 km to Irkutsk and placed in custody. In December 2022, the case of the believers went to court. In January 2024, the court sentenced them to various terms of imprisonment in a penal colony, from 3 to 7 years, satisfying the prosecutor’s request.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Irkutsk Region
Locality:
Irkutsk
Suspected of:
being "adherents of the religious association 'Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia', organized collective religious services, consisting of sequential performances of songs and prayers to Jehovah God, study of articles" (from the decision to bring as an accused)
Court case number:
12102250040000051
Initiated:
October 4, 2021
Current case stage:
verdict did not take effect
Investigating:
2nd Investigation Department of the 3rd Department for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Irkutsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-6/2024 (1-105/2023; 1-857/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Октябрьский районный суд г. Иркутска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Андрей Славинский
Case History
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