Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Searches Were Carried Out at the Homes of Local Jehovah's Witnesses in Novocherkassk. Two Believers Were Placed in a Detention Center

Rostov Region

In the early morning of August 11, 2022, in Novocherkassk (Rostov region), security forces conducted searches at 10 addresses, after which local believers were interrogated. The court placed two men, Garegin Khachaturyan, 55, and Gevorg Yeritsyan, 35, in pre-trial detention center No. 3 in Novocherkassk for 2 months.

This is already the 11th criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Rostov Region. The news is being added.

Update.

It became known that Lyubov Galitsyna, 66, was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center. Returning from vacation, she found out that she had been summoned for interrogation. Anticipating a possible arrest, the believer took essentials and medicines with her. Senior investigator R. A. Bakhramov charged her under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and detained.

The Novocherkassk city court decided to send Galitsyna to a pre-trial detention center for 2 months. The woman was led to the courtroom and later to the paddy wagon to the applause of 30 fellow believers who came to support her.

The Case of Yeritsyan and Others in Novocherkassk

Case History
One early morning in August 2022, the homes of some local Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched in Novocherkassk and the village of Grushevskaya. Half an hour before the start of the searches, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Gevorg Yeritsyan, Garegin Khachaturyan and Lubov Galitsyna on charges of extremism. The men were interrogated and placed in a pretrial detention center. A few days later, Lubov also ended up behind bars. She spent more than a year in a pretrial detention center, after which she was released under house arrest. Hearings in the case began in September 2023. In June 2024, the court announced the verdict: Lubov Galitsyna – 2 years and 3 months, Gevorg Yeritsyan – 6 years and 2 months, and Garegin Khachaturyan – 6.5 years imprisonment for practicing their faith. The court concidered the term given to Galitsina to have already been served.
Timeline

Persons in case

Galitsina
Lubov
Khachaturyan
Garegin
Yeritsyan
Gevorg

Criminal case

Region:
Rostov Region
Locality:
Novocherkassk
Court case number:
12202600015000047
Initiated:
August 11, 2022
Current case stage:
verdict did not take effect
Investigating:
Novocherkassk Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-28/2024 (1-451/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Новочеркасский городской суд Ростовской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Николай Егоров
Case History