Court of Cassation Left Andrey Danielyan From Rubtsovsk in a Penal Colony

On November 30, 2023, the panel of judges of the Eighth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Kemerovo, having considered Andrey Danielyan's appeal, confirmed the sentence of the court of first instance — 6 years in a penal colony.

Nineteen people who came to support Danielyan were admitted to the hearing. While the panel of judges was in the deliberation room, the audience was able to greet the believer who participated in the hearing via video conferencing.

One year earlier, Aleksey Bezrukov, judge of the Rubtsovsk City Court of the Altai Territory had found Danielyan guilty of extremism for discussing the Bible with fellow believers. And in January 2023, the Altai Territorial Court upheld this verdict.

The defendant's lawyer drew attention to the fact that the courts declared the believer an extremist without indicating specific extremist actions and motives, which is required by law. "The actions of the convicted person were normal within the bounds of freedom of religion and with the intention of exercising his constitutional rights directly and explicitly, with his fellow believers," the defense emphasized.

Andrey Danielyan, 54, is one of seven believers being prosecuted in the Altai Territory. Apart from him, Pavel Kazadayev was sentenced to a penal colony in this region.