In the photo: Andrey Shchepin, Evgeny Udintsev and Alexander Shamov
In the photo: Andrey Shchepin, Evgeny Udintsev and Alexander Shamov
On December 2, 2021, the Kirov Regional Court dismissed the appeal of three Jehovah's Witnesses against the conviction for their faith.
The verdict entered into force. Believers still insist on their innocence. They have the right to appeal against the verdict in cassation procedure, as well as in international instances.
On July 19, 2021, the Leninskiy District Court of Kirov sentenced 30-year-old Andrey Shchepin to a fine of 500,000 rubles, 60-year-old Alexandr Shamov — 420,000 rubles, and 72-year-old Yevgeniy Udintsev — 200,000 rubles for “organizing the activities of an extremist organization”. The judge considered it a crime that the believers participated in the discussion of religious issues at meetings of local Jehovah's Witnesses, including by video link.
All three believers have close-knit families. Andrey Shchepin is a civil engineer, together with his wife they took care of her mother, a disabled person of group I, who died before the verdict was pronounced. Yevgeniy Udintsev, also a former civil engineer, is now retired and has poor health. The believer takes care of his wife, a disabled person of the II group, who is limited in movement. Alexandr Shamov is a pensioner with a disability, suffered a heart attack and heart surgery, and is now undergoing a rehabilitation course.
The case was attended by a secret witness and an FSB agent “Plastin”, who, feigning an interest in the Bible, kept a secret record of meetings of believers.
A total of 11 Jehovah's Witnesses in the Kirov region were prosecuted for their faith. One of them — Yuriy Geraskov — died while under investigation.
The world community strongly condemns the criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Among them is Heiner Bielefeldt, professor at the University of Erlangen — Nuremberg. In his interview, he said the following: “Everyone agrees that it is important to fight extremist tendencies, but the concept of 'extremism' remains completely blurred, which creates a kind of access for the authorities, a loophole, an excuse to do what they want. And Jehovah's Witnesses are the perfect scapegoat. "
On October 28, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled that the divine services of Jehovah's Witnesses, their joint rituals and ceremonies do not in themselves constitute a crime under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
