Unjust Verdicts

Court of Appeal Did Not Change the Verdict Against Three Believers from Novocherkassk, Including a 68-year-old Woman. Two Men Will Remain Behind Bars

Rostov Region

On September 26, 2024, the Rostov Regional Court, chaired by Judge Sergey Shumeyev, upheld the decision of the court of first instance: Gevorg Yeritsyan and Garegin Khachaturyan will continue to serve their sentences of 6 years and 2 months and 6.5 years respectively, in a penal colony. Lyubov Galitsyna's term of 2 years and 3 months in a penal colony is considered served due to her time spent in pretrial detention.

The trial of the believers started in September 2023. Video recordings, which were secretely made in the house of Lyubov Galitsyna, were reviewed at the hearings. The defense drew attention to the fact that the defendants are not in these videos and nothing extremist is happening in them. They also looked at the notes in the believer's notebooks, where she wrote her thoughts on passages from the Bible to "better understand how to apply qualities that are pleasing to God, such as compassion and mercy." All three believers maintain their innocence.

The Rostov Regional Court has repeatedly upheld verdicts against Jehovah's Witnesses. So far, 14 people have received up to 7 years imprisonment.

The Case of Yeritsyan and Others in Novocherkassk

Case History
One early August morning of 2022, searches were carried out at the homes of local Jehovah’s Witnesses in Novocherkassk and the village of Grushevskaya. Half an hour before the searches, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Gevorg Yeritsyan, Garegin Khachaturyan and Lyubov Galitsyna on charges for extremism. The men were interrogated and placed in a pretrial detention center. A few days later, Lyubov also ended up behind bars. She spent more than a year in a pretrial detention center, after which she was placed under house arrest. Hearings in the case began in September 2023. In June 2024, the court sentenced Lyubov Galitsyna to 2 years and 3 months, Gevorg Yeritsyan to 6 years and 2 months, and Garegin Khachaturyan to 6.5 years imprisonment for their religion. The court considered the term imposed on Galitsyna as already served. Three months later, the court of appeal upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Galitsina
Lubov
Khachaturyan
Garegin
Yeritsyan
Gevorg

Criminal case

Region:
Rostov Region
Locality:
Novocherkassk
Suspected of:
"Using technical means and devices connected to the Internet, Zoom held a closed video conference through a computer program for organizing conferences, during which it disseminated information related to biblical truths and prophecy, as well as explaining the Bible, as part of a private Bible study" (from the indictment)
Court case number:
12202600015000047
Initiated:
August 11, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the city of Novocherkassk of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Rostov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-28/2024 (1-451/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Novocherkassk City Court, Rostov Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Nikolay Egorov
Case History
Back to top