Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Unjust Verdicts

In Chelyabinsk, the Court of Cassation Did not Change the Verdict of Pavel Popov. The Believer Was Declared an Extremist for Giving a Bible Talk

Chelyabinsk Region

On May 31, 2023, the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction  in Chelyabinsk upheld the verdict for Pavel Popov, a Jehovah's Witness from Yemanzhelinsk. The believer will continue to serve his 6-year suspended sentence.

In May 2022, the court found Pavel guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization for participating in a religious meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. The court of appeal excluded several pieces of evidence from the case, but the verdict essentially remained the same, so the believer filed a cassation appeal.

Speaking before the judicial chamber of the court of cassation, Popov stated: “I was found guilty... for just one small talk to my friends based on the Bible. That talk did not contain any statements for which one could accuse me of extremism.”

In the Chelyabinsk Region, a total of 13 Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted for their faith. For eight of them, the sentence has already entered into force: the believers received suspended sentences or fines.

The Case of Popov in Chelyabinsk

Case History
The security forces searched the apartment of Pavel Popov and his wife in the presence of their young daughter twice - in 2019 and 2021. A peaceful believer from Yemanzhelinsk was brought in as a witness in the case of Valentina Suvorova from Chelyabinsk, and in April 2021, investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Chepenko opened a criminal case against him. He considered preaching, singing religious songs and prayers to be organizing the activities of an extremist organization. In November 2021, the case went to court. During the hearings, it became obvious that the testimony of prosecution witnesses was falsified, and the prosecution had no evidence. Despite this, the prosecutor asked the court to sentence the believer to 8 years in prison. In May 2022, the believer was found guilty and sentenced to 6 years probation with a probation period of 4 years. The appeal and cassation upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Popov
Pavel

Criminal case

Region:
Chelyabinsk Region
Locality:
Chelyabinsk
Court case number:
12102750030000010
Initiated:
April 22, 2021
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-77/2022 (1-659/2021)
Court of First Instance:
Металлургический районный суд г. Челябинска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Мария Мельникова
Case History