Darya Dulova, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov outside the court of cassation in Chelyabinsk, November 9, 2023

Darya Dulova, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov outside the court of cassation in Chelyabinsk, November 9, 2023

Darya Dulova, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov outside the court of cassation in Chelyabinsk, November 9, 2023

Unjust Verdicts

Darya Dulova Was Released from Criminal Liability due to the Expiration of the Statute of Limitations After the Fourth Appeal Hearing. The Verdict Against the Remaining Defendants in the Case Entered into Force

Sverdlovsk Region

On February 8, 2024, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court considered the case of Aleksandr Pryanikov and Venera and Daria Dulova for the fourth time. Now the court of appeal has upheld the suspended sentences for Aleksandr and Venera (2.5 and 2 years, respectively) and released Darya from criminal liability.

The court explained its decision by the fact that during the period of allegeed guilt, Darya Dulova was 17 years old, and in this case the statute of limitations is 5 years (Article 78 of the RfCrC). It expired in June 2023. The appeals of the defendants and the ruling of the prosecutor were denied by the panel of judges. The believers do not agree with the verdict and deny being guilty of extremism.

In 4.5 years, three verdicts were passed in the case of the believers from Karpinsk: two guilty and one acquittal. The court of first instance considered the case twice, the court of appeal four times, and the court of cassation twice. The trial even went before the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Since 2021, another case against the Dulovs and Pryanikov is being considered in court, also on charges of extremism.

The European Court of Human Rights recognized that the prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is unlawful and ruled in their favor in June 2022.

The Case of Pryanikov and Others in Karpinsk

Case History
In June 2018, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov were detained for talking about the Bible. A criminal case was initiated against them under an article against extremism. A year later, Darya Dulova became the third defendant in the case. In January 2020, they were given suspended sentences ranging from 1 year to 2.5 years. The court of appeal in Yekaterinburg overturned the verdict and returned the case to the court of first instance. This time, the prosecutor requested a more severe punishment, but the court duplicated the first verdict. In March 2022, the court of appeal again overturned the verdict, acquitting the believers. The court cassation upheld this decision. However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned it in March 2023 and returned the case to the appeal stage, which returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, after which the court of cassation sent it for a new appeal hearing. A fourth appellate decision upheld the verdicts against Aleksandr and Venera. Darya is exempt from criminal liability, as the statute of limitations has expired. All three believers are defendants in another criminal case for their faith.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Sverdlovsk Region
Locality:
Karpinsk
Suspected of:
"Within the jurisdiction of the city of Karpinsk... together with a group of people, being fully aware that the religious organization Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was declared extremist and its activities in the Russian Federation were prohibited, [he] participated in its activities by directly taking part in events, carrying out propaganda of its activities, familiarizing with religious literature."
Court case number:
11802650042000038
Initiated:
July 30, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
СО в г. Краснотурьинске СУ Следственного комитета РФ по Свердловской области
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-11/2021 (1-184/2020; 1-5/2020; 1-167/2019)
Court:
Карпинский городской суд Свердловской области
Case History
Back to top