Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Searches of Jehovah's Witnesses Were Again Held in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Criminal Case Initiated Against 55-Year-Old Believer

Krasnoyarsk Territory

On November 25, 2021, in Lesosibirsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory), searches were carried out in the homes of 6 believers. It became known that a criminal case was initiated against 55-year-old Valeriy Shitz under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).

The searches began early in the morning, when officers of the FSB and the Investigative Committee came to the houses of believers. Electronic devices, information carriers, as well as Bibles and religious literature were seized from civilians. In some cases, law enforcement officers took photographs and videos. After the searches, Valeriy Shitz and several other believers were taken for interrogation, after which they were released.

On November 19, 2021, Hakob Stepanyan, an investigator of the Investigation Department for the city of Lesosibirsk, of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia, opened a criminal case against Valeriy Shitz. According to the investigation, the believer "organized and conducted meetings of adherents in the form of collective worship, taught the preaching work of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, and carried out actions aimed at promoting the activities of a banned organization."

On November 26, 2021, the judge of the Lesosibirskiy District Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Aleksey Knyazev, decided to choose for Valeriy Shitz a ban on certain actions as a preventive measure — communication with witnesses in the case and persons who are not his close relatives, the use of mail and the Internet are banned for him. The believer is also prohibited from leaving the city of Lesosibirsk.

Lesosibirsk has joined the list of cities in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where 17 more civilians are currently being prosecuted. The harshest sentence in this region was passed on 47-year-old Andrey Stupnikov — 6 years in a penal colony.

The case of Shiyan and Matveyeva in Lesosibirsk

Case History
In November 2021, FSB and Investigative Committee officers conducted a series of searches in Lesosibirsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory) as part of the criminal case against Valeriy Shitz. The searches affected Andrey Shiyan and Anna Matveeva. In January 2023, separate criminal cases were opened against them. For discussing the Bible with friends, the investigation charged the man with organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and the woman with participating in the activities of a religious association. Subscriptions were taken from believers not to leave. In April 2023, Andrey Shiyan was searched again, during which he had to call an ambulance twice. In October, the criminal cases went to court, where they were later merged into one proceeding. In May 2024, another judge began to consider the case.
Timeline

Persons in case

Shiyan
Andrey
Matveeva
Anna

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Locality:
Lesosibirsk
Suspected of:
"in order to increase the impact on the consciousness of the participants of the online meeting, reproduced, interpreted and commented on religious texts"; "Being in my apartment ... using uninstalled electronic devices... trained adherents in the preaching work of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses by studying and discussing religious literature and other sources" (from the decision to prosecute as an accused)
Court case number:
42302040012000005, 12302040012000006
Initiated:
January 30, 2023
Current case stage:
trial in court of first instance
Investigating:
Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-39/2024 (1-436/2023; 1-490/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Lesosibirsk City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yevgeniy Zadvornyy
Case History
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