Appeal in Stavropol Replaced Seven and a Half Years in Prison for Konstantin Samsonov With a Fine

On August 5, 2022, the Stavropol Regional Court, chaired by Judge Andrey Shever, partially granted the appeal and commuted the sentence, replacing Konstantin Samsonov with 7.5 years in prison for a fine. The believer is expected to be released on August 8.

According to preliminary information the court also partially satisfied the prosecutor's appeal, increasing the amount of fines for other defendants in the case—Aleksandr Akopov and Shamil Sultanov. Taking into account the period of detention in a pre-trial detention center, all three believers were fined, payable: Sultanov and Akopov—250,000 rubles each, and Samsonov—400,000 rubles.

On April 19, 2022, the judge of the Neftekumskiy District Court Maksim Mazikin considered the conversations of three believers about God to be extremism. Of these, Konstantin Samsonov, the leading systems engineer at the Neftekumsk Central District Hospital, received the most severe sentence for his faith.

The process was held with violations, the prosecution did not provide evidence of crimes on the part of believers, as witnesses the prosecutor involved repeatedly convicted persons, including those who did not know the defendants, and the secret prosecution witness “Agafonov” admitted that the believers did not cause any harm to him or anyone or otherwise.

Addressing the court at the appeal hearing, Samsonov emphasized that extremism was alien to him. He added: “I not only implemented federal programs for the digitalization of healthcare, but also participated in subbotniks to improve the city, did not lead an immoral lifestyle, raised a responsible son . . . I myself chose the Christian path. This is not extremism!”

Samsonov, Akopov and Sultanov spent a year behind bars. Due to the imposed restrictions for more than two years, they were forced to wear special sensors that record their movements.

On June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled to end the persecution of Russian Jehovah's Witnesses on religious grounds and to release all believers illegally imprisoned.