Andrey Kolesnichenko with his wife

Andrey Kolesnichenko with his wife

Andrey Kolesnichenko with his wife

Unjust Verdicts

Tomsk Region-Based Andrey Kolesnichenko, One of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Holding Bible-Based Discussions

Tomsk Region

On January 19, 2022, the judge of the Seversky City Court of the Tomsk Region, Yalchin Badalov, found 51-year-old Andrey Kolesnichenko guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced him to real imprisonment for a period of four years. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom.

The court also appointed Kolesnichenko an additional restriction of freedom for 1 year: after serving the term, the believer during this period will not be able to visit places of mass, sports, cultural and entertainment events and participate in them, change their place of residence and leave it at night.

"From the materials of the case and my testimony it is clear that I did not commit any crime. I peacefully and legally professed my faith in Jehovah God," Kolesnichenko said in an appeal to the court.

In July 2020, FSB officers detained this cabinet furniture maker right at his workplace, after which they searched his home. The case was opened in March 2021, 8 months after the search. The investigation was carried out for three months by the Investigation Department for Close Administrative-Territorial Unit Seversk, Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Tomsk Region.

Six months after the initiation of the criminal case, Kolesnichenko retired. Due to the need to constantly visit the Investigative Committee, he could not devote proper time to work. Throughout the investigation and trial, the believer was under house arrest.

Kolesnichenko's accusation was based on data obtained during the surveillance of the believer and the testimony of prosecution witness Kira Klisheva. The woman pretended to be interested in the Bible for about a year, made videos of the services from her home computer and handed them over to the FSB. Based on her testimony, charges were brought against at least five other Jehovah's Witnesses in Seversk: Aleksey Yershov, Andrey Ledyaykin, Yelena Saveliyeva, Sergey Belousov, and Yevgeniy Korotun. The latter is the brother of Kolesnichenko's wife.

On June 22, 2021, the Kolesnichenko case was received by the Severskiy City Court of the Tomsk Region and was considered there for 7 months. The prosecutor asked the court to sentence the native of Seversk to 5 years in a penal colony and 1 year of various restrictions. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed. The believer insists on his complete innocence.

In total, seven criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses were initiated in the Tomsk Region. Sergey Klimov, sentenced to 6 years in prison, has been serving his sentence since February 20, 2020. 80-year-old Yelena Saveliyeva received 4 years of probation. The court sentenced Aleksey Ershov to 3 years in a penal colony, and Yevgeniy Korotun—to seven years in prison. The cases of Andrey Ledyaykin and Sergey Belousov are still pending in court.

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 performance of rites and ceremonies, in themselves do not constitute a crime under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.

Case of Kolesnichenko in Seversk

Case History
Andriy Kolesnichenko was accused of “participating in a closed secret meeting in the form of a collective religious service.” This is how the investigating authorities called the peaceful meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Seversk. In July 2020, FSB officers detained the believer right at his workplace, after which his house was searched. In March 2021, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Tomsk Region opened a criminal case against Kolesnichenko for participating in the activities of an extremist organization. After 3 months, it was submitted to the Seversky City Court. The accusation was based on the testimony of an informant who pretended to be interested in the Bible, recorded the services on video and handed them over to the FSB. The prosecutor requested that the believer be sentenced to 5 years in prison. In January 2022, Judge Yalchin Badalov sentenced Andrey to 4 years in a general regime colony and 1 year of additional restriction of freedom. He was taken into custody in the courtroom. In June 2022, the appellate court commuted the sentence, replacing it with 4 years of suspended sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Tomsk Region
Locality:
Seversk
Suspected of:
"participation in a closed secret meeting in the form of a collective religious service, consisting of the reproduction of audio and video recordings ... singing songs from a special collection of religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and prayers to Jehovah God"
Court case number:
12102690003000020
Initiated:
March 25, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigation Department for Closed Administrative Territory of Seversk, Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Tomsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-10/2022
Court:
Северский городской суд Томской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Ялчин Бадалов
Case History
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