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Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Searches at Homes of Jehovah's Witnesses Were Again Carried Out in the Khabarovsk Territory. At Least Two Believers Were Detained

Khabarovsk Territory

On the evening of October 11, 2021, in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, searches were carried out in the homes of local believers, including the home of a 78-year-old woman. Two men were detained for 48 hours. Details are being specified.

Nikolaevsk-on-Amur has become the seventh settlement in the Khabarovsk Territory, where the authorities unreasonably persecute believers on religious grounds. Prior to that, criminal cases against 20 local residents were initiated in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Vyazemsky, Bikin, Sovetskaya Gavan and the village of Solnechny. Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of gathering to read the Bible and pray together, including online. Security officials often interpret these actions as the activities of a banned extremist organization. This contradicts the provision of the Russian Constitution, which enshrines the right to profess any religion, as well as the assurances of the authorities that the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited.

Update. As it became known, on October 11, 2021, a criminal case was initiated under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against local believers. The next day, 60-year-old Igor Kletkin, who was detained after the search, was charged by the security forces. On October 13, 2021, Nikita Rubtsov, judge of the Nikolaevsky-on-Amur Court of the Khabarovsk Territory, rejected the investigator’s petition to detain the believer and placed him under a recognizance agreement. The investigator also brought in another man as a defendant in the case, and a 78-year-old believer as a suspect. They also chose a measure of restraint in the form of a written undertaking not to leave.

The Case of Kononenko and Others in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur

Case History
In October 2021, in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, security forces searched the homes of peaceful Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were charged with extremism only because of practising their religion. Igor Kletkin and Vladislav Markov spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility. The investigator initiated a criminal case against them, as well as against Nadezhda Korobochko, for participating in the activity of an extremist organization. The indictment was based on information gathered from surveillance, covert audio recordings of believers’ conversations, conflicting testimony from a secret witness, and falsified testimony from other witnesses. The case went to court in December 2022. In July 2024, the court gave Kononenko, Kletkin and Korobochko suspended sentences: the men received 6 years each, Nadezhda Korobochko — 5 years.
Timeline

Persons in case

Kletkin
Igor
Kononenko
Nikolay
Korobochko
Nadezhda
Markov
Vladislav

Criminal case

Region:
Khabarovsk Territory
Locality:
Nikolaevsk-on-Amur
Court case number:
12102080010000053
Initiated:
October 11, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Nikolaev-on-Amur Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-3/2024 (1-54/2023; 1-413/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Николаевский-на-Амуре городской суд Хабаровского края
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Роман Жуков
Case History
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