Olga Mirgorodskaya and Sergey Kazakov at the entrance of the city court building. August 2023
Two More Residents of the Khabarovsk Territory Convicted for Their Faith in God. Olga Mirgorodskaya and Sergey Kazakov Sentenced to Heavy Fine
Khabarovsk TerritoryOn August 3, 2023, Denis Dneprovskiy, judge of the Bikinskiy City Court, found Olga Mirgorodskaya and Sergey Kazakov guilty of extremism. They were fined for their faith: Olga – 300,000 rubles and Sergey – 500,000 rubles.
In November 2020, the Investigative Directorate of the RF Investigative Committee for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region initiated criminal cases against Sergey Kazakov and Olga Mirgorodskaya. He was accused of organizing and participating in extremist activity, while she was only accused of participating. About a month later, in December, a wave of searches swept through the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Khabarovsk Territory. According to the believers, during the raid, the law enforcement officers searched everything, including trash cans and cat trays.
At the time of the searches, Sergey Kazakov was in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky – he went there to look after his mother after a stroke. Immediately after that, he was transferred from Kamchatka to the Khabarovsk Territory and placed in a detention center. Sergey spent 165 days in custody and over 2 months under house arrest.
The investigation lasted 1 year and 3 months, after which the case was referred to the court. The prosecution did not provide evidence of the believers' guilt, and all that was clear from the case materials is that Mirgorodskaya and Kazakov believe in Jehovah God. Nevertheless, the prosecutor requested that Sergey be sentenced to 6 years and 2 months imprisonment, and Olga be given a 4-year suspended sentence.
During the court hearings, Olga stated: “In my case, the prosecution, by threatening criminal punishment, is unlawfully trying to force me to go against my faith and conscience. I did not commit a crime, but only used my constitutional right to believe in Jehovah God and live according to my religious beliefs.”
Sergey said: “Having established that I am a believer, the public prosecutor groundlessly switched the understanding of exercising the citizens' right to freedom of religion [...] with the understanding of criminal activity, regarding which I consider this criminal case to be politically motivated repression.”
In total, 18 criminal cases have been initiated in the Khabarovsk Territory against 35 Jehovah's Witnesses. The sentences for 10 believers have already entered into force.
Russian and foreign human rights activists clearly condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Elizabeth Clark, an international human rights and European Union law expert, states: “Jehovah's Witnesses... have been facing increasing persecution... in Russia for exercising their rights to freedom of religion or belief. This violates Russia's commitments to international law and its own constitution."
