The Case of Sorokin and Zhukov in Yugorsk

Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Alekseev, acting head of the Yugorsk Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, is initiating a criminal case against Andrey Zhukov and Ivan Sorokin under Part 1 of Article 282. 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The case is assigned No. 12002711023058534. According to the investigation, the believers, together with other persons, "developed the basic plans of the local religious organization ... conducted conspiratorial gatherings of members of an extremist organization for the purpose of conducting religious rites and sermons."

The head of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, Colonel of Justice M. V. Mokshin withdraws the UD from the production of I. Y. Alekseev and transfers it for further investigation to the investigator of the control and investigation department of the SU N. Y. Tatarnikov.

The court of Khanty-Mansiysk issues an order to search the apartments of several believers.

In the early morning, security forces invaded 9 homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Yugorsk and neighboring Sovetsky. 16 people are taken away for interrogation. Andrey Zhukov and Ivan Sorokin are placed in a temporary detention facility.

The representative of the Investigative Committee A. A. Solovyov searches the apartment of Sergei Pushkin for 3 hours with the participation of 2 armed SOBR officers, 2 witnesses and a technical specialist. Flash drives, hard drives, audio cassettes and electronic devices are seized from the believer. After the search, Sergei Pushkin and his wife are taken to the police station for interrogation and testimony. Law enforcement officers are trying to persuade the spouses to cooperate with the investigation.

On the same morning, Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Alekseev searched Ivan Sorokin's home for 4.5 hours with the participation of a second investigator, the deputy head of the CPE, 2 witnesses, 3 detectives and a forensic investigator "in order to find and seize literature and other sources of information aimed at professing and disseminating ideology and faith promoted by the extremist organization Jehovah's Witnesses Administrative Center in Yugorsk." Electronic devices, flash drives, passports and bank cards were seized.

Investigator N. Tatarnikov issues a decision to bring Ivan Sorokin and Sergey Zhukov as defendants under Part 1. Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Late in the evening, Zhukov and Sorokin are allowed to go home on their own recognizance.

The head of the Ugra Interdistrict Investigation Department combines the criminal cases against Andrey Zhukov and Ivan Sorokin into one proceeding.

Andrey Zhukov and Ivan Sorokin are included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. The believers' bank accounts were subsequently blocked.

It becomes known that as part of the investigative actions, an examination of the materials seized during the searches was carried out. After that, about 10 people were interrogated.

It also turns out that for more than a month the case of Sorokin and Zhukov has been led by another investigator.

Investigator A. Karachurin charges Ivan Sorokin under another article: Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inducement, recruitment and other involvement of persons in an extremist organization), after which an interrogation is conducted. The believer uses Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Andrey Zhukov is also charged under Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. As follows from the ruling, the unlawful actions of believers boil down to the fact that they "conducted divine services consisting of sequentially performed prayers to Jehovah God, conducting a religious ceremony, and studying religious texts."

After the decision is served, Zhukov is interrogated, he enjoys the right not to testify against himself and his relatives.

Believers file petitions to terminate the criminal case, but are refused.

The case is submitted to Judge Yuriy Klyupa for consideration at the Yugorsky District Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra.

Yugorsky District Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra (4 Buryaka Street, Yugorsk). Referee: Yuriy Klyupa. Start: 9.30.

10 people gather outside the courthouse to support the believers. The hearing is held with the participation of two state prosecutors: Alexander Burenkov and Yulia Boruti.

Judge Yuriy Klyupa rejects Andrey Zhukov's petition to refuse a lawyer by appointment.

Ivan Sorokin speaks with an attitude to the accusation. He draws the court's attention to the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 32 of October 28, 2021, which states that joint worship services in themselves do not constitute a crime under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The believer also explains that the attendance of Jehovah's Witnesses worship services by the persons whose testimony formed the basis of the accusation "was related to their intention to assist law enforcement agencies in collecting and transmitting secretly made recordings of such meetings ... There was a direct provocation."

The court interrogates the son of Ivan Sorokin and three other people who use Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. One of the women retracts the testimony given during the preliminary investigation.

10 people gather outside the courthouse to support the believers. The hearing is held with the participation of two state prosecutors: Alexander Burenkov and Yulia Boruti.

Judge Yuriy Klyupa rejects Andrey Zhukov's petition to refuse a lawyer by appointment.

Ivan Sorokin speaks with an attitude to the accusation. He draws the court's attention to the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 32 of October 28, 2021, which states that joint worship services in themselves do not constitute a crime under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The believer also explains that the attendance of Jehovah's Witnesses worship services by the persons whose testimony formed the basis of the accusation "was related to their intention to assist law enforcement agencies in collecting and transmitting secretly made recordings of such meetings ... There was a direct provocation."

The court interrogates the son of Ivan Sorokin and three other people who use Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. One of the women retracts the testimony given during the preliminary investigation.

The witness on the part of the prosecution A. Nekrasov, who is an operative of the criminal investigation department of Yugorsk, is being interrogated. He was also present during a search of Zhukov's apartment on August 19, 2020, during which electronic media, flash cards, laptops, and disks were seized.

The court interrogates the wife of the defendant Ivan Sorokin. It uses Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The court is interrogating a former colleague of Andrei Zhukov. The woman reports that the defendant never invited her or other employees to join any religious organization. Relations in the team were good.

Also, two of Sorokin's colleagues are invited to the court for interrogation. They report that they have not heard any calls from the believer for any reprehensible actions.

The court is questioning prosecution witnesses, including the landlord, Zhukov's neighbor and a colleague. All of them note that they do not know anything wrong with the believer.

Another prosecution witness is being questioned at the hearing. During his acquaintance with the defendants, he did not hear any appeals of an extremist nature from them. The witness adds that he has no dislike for the defendants and considers them peaceful.

During the reading of the case materials, one of the lawyers draws the court's attention to the fact that all acts of inspection of disks with recordings of conversations of believers contain incomplete transcripts.

Two expert opinions are mentioned in the materials. The defense notes that one of them was compiled on the basis of a transcript, and not the original audio recording.

The prosecutor reads out the inspection report. The lawyer draws the judge's attention to the fact that the prosecutor is scrolling through it in a hurry, not paying attention to significant information.

Next, the state prosecutor reads out the personal files of Andrei Zhukov and Ivan Sorokin, seized at the place of work.

The hearing is adjourned due to the defendant's illness. At the next hearing, it is planned to read the case materials and interrogate the prosecution witness.

A man who attended worship meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses until 2013 is being interrogated via video link. He says that in 2020 he resumed his participation in worship services and, on the instructions of the Center for Countering Extremism, began to take notes of these meetings.

An expert, candidate of philosophical sciences Sergey Bogdan, who participated in the examinations as a religious scholar, is being interrogated. Answering questions, he explains that he does not have the education to conduct religious examinations. Bogdan explains that a basic understanding of religions, including Jehovah's Witnesses, is enough for him to conduct examinations. The lawyer asks, "Do you consider believing in God and worshipping him a criminal act?"

Defendant Ivan Sorokin uses Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation when testifying in court.

The lawyer draws attention to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of 20.04.2017 contained in the case file and says that according to its text, the prohibition of a religious organization does not imply a ban on religious activities of believers, which is also guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The court attaches to the case file a description of Andrey Zhukov from his place of work.

The lawyer claims gross violations of Ivan Sorokin's rights during a search in his house: "In the case file there is a statement by the defendant with a request to provide him with a lawyer. However, the investigator ignored this and conducted a search. The appeal found the investigative actions illegal. It is not clear why the investigation hid this document and did not attach it to the case file."

The prosecutor initiates the interrogation of expert Alexander Dokuchaev, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the city of Yugorsk. Lawyers find out from him why the decision on the appointment of an examination and the subscription on responsibility are dated on different days, although by law they must be registered on the same day. The expert explains that this is a typo. The defense points out a few more errors and inconsistencies in the documents. For example, it is indicated that the expert examined the video files, but it is not clear which ones. Also, Dokuchaev cannot name the scientific methods of the examination. The prosecutor considers all these to be insignificant flaws.

Andrei Zhukov reminds the court: "The prosecution mentioned that experts can use open sources on the Internet. But the case file does not contain the charter of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, although experts refer to it. And there is no charter in the public domain either.

The judge grants the investigator's request to attach to the case file the order to search Sorokin's home, despite the objections of the defense, which claims that this document was absent during the investigation, and, accordingly, there was no opportunity to appeal against it.

The defense provides information about the defendants - marriage certificates, characteristics from the place of work, and also confirms that the defendants have minor children.

The prosecutor asks to appoint Ivan Sorokin to 9 years, and Andrey Zhukov - 8 years and 6 months in a general regime colony. After that, the defendants make the last word.

Judge Valery Kolobaev rejects the request of the state prosecutor to hold closed court hearings.

The state prosecutor reads out what believers Ivan Sorokin and Andrey Zhukov are accused of: they "took active steps aimed at persuading and otherwise involving residents of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug of Ugra in the activities of the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses" in Yugorsk.

Ivan Sorokin and Andrei Zhukov voice their attitude to the charges. In their opinion, the state prosecutor imposes the view that the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses is prohibited, but this is not true.

Interrogation of 6 prosecution witnesses. When asked whether Sorokin encouraged violent change of the foundations of the constitutional order or violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, whether he promoted social, racial, national or religious strife, all witnesses answered in the negative.

When asked by the prosecutor whether Sorokin was a member of the organization, one of the witnesses replies: "Not in the organization, but his faith is like that. I don't know that he was a legal entity in the organization."

A prosecution witness who secretly recorded conversations with Sorokin is being interrogated. He says that he voluntarily stopped going to services back in 2016 and has not met Sorokin since September 2017. Since that time, the defendant has not offered him any literature or invited him to religious meetings.

Sorokin and Zhukov file a petition to grant the defense the right to exercise the adversarial nature of the parties. In one of the points, he points out: "The prosecutor, in the presence of witnesses, repeatedly pointed out the cancellation of the acquittal previously issued in the criminal case. The defense considers such actions as exerting pressure on witnesses from the prosecution in order to obtain testimony favorable to it and asks to take measures aimed at preventing such violations.

Interrogation of a prosecution witness who attended worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses until 2018. He says that after 2017 he had no contact with Sorokin. According to the witness, Sorokin and Zhukov never called him to extremism or undermine the constitutional order.