Served Sentences

Vadim Levchuk and Sergey Britvin Released After Concluding their Prison Sentences for a Conviction on Practicing their Faith

Kemerovo Region,   Novosibirsk Region

On December 30, 2021, residents of Berezovsky, Sergey Britvin and Vadim Levchuk, were released, having completely served the sentence imposed by the court in a correctional colony in Novosibirsk. For the long-awaited meeting with them, relatives, friends and relatives traveled more than 300 kilometers.

At the exit from the colony, the believers were greeted with applause by about 30 people, including the wife of Sergey Britvin, Natalya, and the eldest son of Vadim Levchuk. His wife Tatyana and his youngest son were unable to come to Novosibirsk due to illness.

In September 2020, the Berezovskiy City Court of the Kemerovo Region sentenced two believers to 4 years in prison for talking to others about the Bible. The court was not embarrassed by any falsifications in the case, or false testimony of witnesses, or the absence of corpus delicti and victims. The appellate instance upheld the verdict.

Due to the long stay of the believers in the pre-trial detention center, during the investigation, they had to spend about 10 months in the colony during the investigation. De facto, they spent 250 days under house arrest, 700 days in a pre-trial detention center and another 297 days (9 months, 3 weeks and 1 day) in correctional colony No. 3 in Novosibirsk.

In prisons, Vadim Levchuk was placed in a punishment cell and under strict conditions of detention on trumped-up charges. Sergey Britvin faced other difficulties. He is a disabled person of the II group and cannot lift more than 2 kilograms, therefore, many everyday tasks are beyond his strength. Prisoners helped Sergey solve everyday problems: for example, they washed his clothes and heated water for him.

As the believers themselves said, letters from all over the world were a special source of support for them in the colony. Prisoners were surprised that even those with whom they did not personally know wrote to believers. Vadim Levchuk recalls: "When 88 letters were brought to me for the first time, I leaned over the window in the cell door to thank the operative. She also leaned over and said: "Let me at least look at you, otherwise everyone in the letters is interested in how you feel."

“While in prison, Vadim gratefully recalled the smiles of his loyal friends, their support during the court hearings, how they inspired him with applause,” says Tatyana, Vadim's wife.

In addition to Levchuk and Britvin, 11 other Jehovah's Witnesses from the Kemerovo region were prosecuted on the basis of religious discrimination, three of them were sentenced to suspended sentences.

During 2021, several anti-records were registered in Russia – in the number of sentences to Jehovah's Witnesses, in their cruelty, as well as in the number of believers in colonies and pre-trial detention centers. However, the end of the year was marked by the ruling of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in defense of believers and the first acquittal.

Case of Levchuk and Britvin in Beryozovsky

Case History
In January 2021, the sentence came into force for two miners from the city of Berezovsky - 4 years each in a general regime colony due to the fact that they profess the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Both have families. At the time of Vadim Levchuk’s arrest, his son was a minor. Sergey Britvin has a disability group II. The persecution began in July 2018, when a wave of searches took place in the city, after which the Central District Court of Kemerovo placed both in a pre-trial detention center. While the investigation and trial were going on, the believers spent almost 2 years in prison. The case of Britvin and Levchuk was investigated by the FSB. No casualties or damage were identified. The believers were found guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization only because they communicated with friends on spiritual topics. The state prosecutor recommended that the court appoint 6.5 years in prison for each. The believers pleaded not guilty, insisting that practicing their religion is not prohibited by law. On December 30, 2021, they were released from the colony, having served their sentence in full.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Kemerovo Region
Locality:
Beryozovsky
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participation in the activity of an extremist organisation (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11807320001000380
Initiated:
July 19, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Kemerovo Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-139/2019
Court:
Берёзовский городской суд Кемеровской области
Judge:
Ирина Воробьёва
Case History
Back to top