Aleksandr Lubin Died Elderly Man With Disability Has Gone Through Pre-trial Detention Center, Investigation and Court in Three Years

On November 11, 2024, Aleksandr Lubin, convicted in the case of extremism, died at the age of 68. The disabled person was kept in a pre-trial detention center for almost a month and released only after the intervention of the ECHR, it was difficult for him to go to every court hearing, and after the verdict his condition became critical.

In July 2021, Aleksandr Lubin was arrested and sent to custody. Even then, according to the medical certificates provided, his detention in a pre-trial detention center posed a real danger to his life. So, he had a serious vascular disease, hypertension and an autoimmune disease that affected various organs. He needed to receive humidified oxygen every day for 16 hours, which was not provided in the pre-trial detention center. Lubin's lawyers filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, which was satisfied: 20 days later, the man was released from the pre-trial detention center.

"I can say for sure that after the detention of Aleksandr and his stay in the pre-trial detention center, his health deteriorated significantly. Before his arrest, he went to the store for groceries on his own, after his release he could no longer walk further than the courtyard of the house," says Lubin's defender. "He was very worried in the days when the court hearings were taking place."

In October, the court sentenced Aleksandr to a fine of 500 thousand rubles, although the prosecutor asked for a seven-year suspended sentence. Lubin managed to appeal the court's decision, considering it unfair and illegal. After that, Aleksandr's wife, Tatyana, reported that her husband was in intensive care and connected to a ventilator—he could not breathe on his own.

"The investigation and prosecutors believe that they are only doing their job. And the courts that pass comparatively lenient —'merciful'—sentences. But all this injustice literally takes the lives of ordinary peaceful people," says Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Aleksandr Lubin became the 12th Jehovah's Witness in Russia to die while under investigation.