Court of Appeal Upheld Suspended Sentences for Three Elderly Residents of Barnaul for Talking About Jehovah

The verdict against Mikhail Reshetnikov, 75, veteran of labor, Yuriy Kolotinskiy, 69, disabled and Anatoliy Sarychev, 74, entered into force with minor changes – the corresponding decision was issued by the Altai Territorial Court on July 19, 2024. Each of the believers received a 2-year and 3-month suspended sentence.

Kolotinskiy, Reshetnikov and Sarychev received suspended sentences for charges of participating in the activity of an extremist organization because they participated in peaceful religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses. The court of appeal amended the part of the verdict regarding the restriction of freedom: the believers are forbidden to visit places of mass events and participate in them without the consent of supervisory bodies, while the ban on participating in other events was excluded from the verdict. The territorial court also ruled that some personal belongings of the believers, which the law enforcement officers seized as material evidence, should not be destroyed.

Yuriy Kolotinskiy on the day of the appeal hearing

In the appeal, the Barnaul residents pointed out: "All the charges [of extremism] do not correspond to reality, as evidenced by the facts from the criminal case, from the expert studies, as well as from the words of witnesses interrogated in court; [...] wholly legitimate conduct aimed solely at expressing one's faith in ways characteristic of Jehovah's Witnesses around the world was wrongly regarded by the court as illegal actions."

According to the believers, the criminal prosecution exacerbated the difficulties already caused by old age and failing health. However, all three are grateful for the support from family and friends. "They pray for us, come to court, stand and wait for us in the cold on the street and meet and see us off with applause. This touches my heart," said Anatoliy Sarychev earlier.

In total, 9 of Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted on similar charges in the Altai Territory, two of them are serving sentences in a penal colony.