The Case of the Bochkarevs and Obizhestvit in Kazan

The investigative unit of the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Tatarstan initiates a criminal case under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is investigated by R. U. Galimzyanov.

Mass searches are taking place in Kazan. About 15 believers were detained, and several apartments were searched. Spouses Andrey and Leysan Bochkarev, as well as Tatyana Obizhestvit, were placed in a temporary detention facility after interrogation.

The Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan releases Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva under house arrest. Andrey Bochkarev was sent to a pre-trial detention center.

Searches at the apartments of believers continue in Kazan.

Interrogations of believers continue in Kazan. Investigators find out what kind of God the townspeople believe in.

At a closed hearing, the judge decides to extend Andrey Bochkarev's detention in the pre-trial detention center until April 27, 2020.

At the court hearings, Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva extend their house arrest for 2 months - until 04/27/2020.

The hearing in the case of Obizhestvit is officially open to visitors, but the judge does not allow any of the listeners into the courtroom. Friends of the defendants are waiting for a decision in the hallway. After the meeting, the investigator and bailiffs allow the visitors to communicate and support the women.

Lawyers are petitioning for mitigation of the measure of restraint for Andrey Bochkarev. The reason for this is the epidemiological situation in the country and the world, as well as Bochkarev's previous serious illness. The senior investigator of the SCh of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tatarstan, Major of Justice R. Galimzyanov, rejects the petition.

Andrey Bochkarev, who has been in jail for 5 months, has his arrest extended again - until August 27, 2020.

The believer is taken to court to familiarize himself with the materials of the petition.

Upon his return, Andrey is unexpectedly transferred to another cell, not allowing him to collect his belongings and personal hygiene items. As a result, he does not have the opportunity to brush his teeth, shave, use soap for more than 4 days.

The case is submitted to the Vakhitovsky District Court of Kazan. On the same day, the case materials are transferred to Judge Yuriy Arsenyuk for consideration.

Andrey Bochkarev is transferred from SIZO-2 to SIZO-1 in Kazan. The address for correspondence has changed.

The first court hearing is held. The court does not satisfy the believers' request to dismiss the case and refuses to allow visits to Andrey Bochkarev, who is in pre-trial detention. The prosecutor reads out the indictment. The defendants express their disagreement with the prosecution.

A man with whom the Bochkarevs had previously talked about the Bible is being interrogated. He is confused in his testimony and cannot cite facts that would prove that Andrei and Leysan did anything illegal. At the same time, he expresses his negative attitude towards believers: "I immediately realized that they were sectarians."

A new lawyer enters the case. The judge does not satisfy his request to send the case to another court of territorial jurisdiction.

The detention of Andrey Bochkarev and the house arrest of Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva are extended for another 3 months, until November 1, 2021.

The court interrogates the secret witness "Shigapov". According to him, he was one of Jehovah's Witnesses until 2020, but he previously claimed that he attended services until 2016. The defense draws attention to this contradiction and asks to read out his written testimony. The questioning of the witness is postponed as he leaves the courthouse during the break.

The case file states that Leysan Bochkareva, on her own initiative, communicated on religious topics with two women. However, at the court hearing, one of them, E. Gafetdinova, says that she was asked to meet with Leysan and pretend to be interested in the Bible. The witness also mentions that it was on their instructions that she introduced the defendant to another woman.

Tatiana's son Obizhestvit, who does not share his mother's religious views, gives her a positive characterization and reports that despite their different views, they have close family relations.

The interrogation of a witness under the pseudonym "Shigapov", who pretends to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, continues. The defense draws attention to the fact that his testimony word for word coincides with the testimony of a certain Tajiyev from another criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses in Kazan. Later, the court attaches the text of Tadzhiev's testimony to the case file for comparison.

The secret witness "Averyanov" is being interrogated. He states that he was sitting in the same cell with Bochkarev and that he offered him "to join the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses." Then he asks several times to read out the testimony that he gave at the preliminary investigation, referring to the fact that he does not remember anything. At the end of the interrogation, Bochkarev declares that the testimony of the witness does not correspond to reality.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan is considering an appeal against the extension of Andrey Bochkarev's detention. The court attaches positive characteristics to the believer, as well as 3 decisions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, but leaves unchanged the decision of the court of first instance. The believer has been imprisoned for 1 year and 10 months.

A witness who is visually impaired is being questioned. He explains that he has known Bochkarev since 2017, they discussed the Bible together. The witness notes that the defendant did not express any extremist ideas and helped him in every possible way.

The court is examining video recordings of conversations between believers about the Bible and FSB informants who portrayed interest in the Bible.

An audio recording of the service is heard, on which songs, prayers, discussions and a report on the topic "Do you harbor anger or forgive?" are heard.

Judge Yuriy Arsenyuk allows Leysan Bochkareva to take her husband's belongings from the pre-trial detention center, which she, being under house arrest, could not receive for a long time.

Religious expert V. N. Rohatin is interrogated, but his interrogation is interrupted by evacuation from the courthouse.

A petition has been filed to involve religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy Sergey Ivanenko in the criminal case. The defense asks to investigate and attach Ivanenko's conclusions of July 22, 2022 to the case file. The defense also asks to interrogate Ivanenko via video conferencing with the Moscow District Court.

In addition, the lawyers request that the legal positions of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of June 7, 2022 be taken into account when resolving issues in this criminal case. The court attaches the decision of the ECHR to the case file.

The defendant Tatyana Obizhestvit is being interrogated.

The judge extends Andrey's detention in the pre-trial detention center, and his wife Leysan and Tatyana Obizhestvit house arrest for another 3 months. Bochkarev has been in custody for more than 2 years and 9 months.

Due to the illness of Judge Yuriy Arsenyuk, the hearing is chaired by Dinar Khabibullin.

A lawyer visits Andrey Bochkarev in a pre-trial detention center in Kazan. He says that the conditions of detention are acceptable, there are 8 people in an 8-bed cell. The believer does not complain about his health. He reports that he has already received 10,700 letters.

The prosecutor asks for punishment for the spouses Bochkarev and Tatyana Obizhestvit - 7 years in prison in a general regime colony with restriction of liberty for 1 year. He justifies the severity of the punishment by the fact that the "crime" was committed by "a group of persons by prior conspiracy", and this is an aggravating circumstance.

The judge refuses to satisfy most of the defense's motions, including the attachment of a number of documents to the case file. Among them is the conclusion of Mikhail Odintsov, Doctor of Historical Sciences and religious scholar, that "Holy Scripture - New World Translation" is the Bible. The court also refuses to involve Mikhail Seleznev, Candidate of Philological Sciences, as a specialist in the field of religious studies.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, Pushkin Street, 72/2). Time: 09:00.