Photo: Dmitry Mikhailov (2018)

Photo: Dmitry Mikhailov (2018)

Photo: Dmitry Mikhailov (2018)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

A Criminal Case for Faith in the Ivanovo Region

Ivanovo Region

Dmitry Mikhailov, a 40-year-old resident of Shuya (Ivanovo region), who professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, was found to be suspected of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and a written undertaking not to leave was taken from him. Early in the morning of April 20, 2018, in the city of Shuya, searches were simultaneously conducted in 4 apartments of citizens who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

During one of the searches, riot policemen, having invaded the believers, put a gun to the head of their neighbor in the communal apartment, although he did not offer any resistance, and forced this peaceful man to lie on the floor, so that he remained in this position for about 15 minutes. During another search, the man was threatened with handcuffs to prevent him from getting legal advice over the phone. The woman, whose house was searched, could not follow the actions of the operatives, because she had to calm a small child. After the searches, women who exercised their right under Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation during interrogation were intimidated with criminal prosecution. Phones and tablets were taken away from citizens, which in most cases they need for work and everyday affairs. Bank cards and various kinds of documentation were also seized.

Police officers participated in the searches, for example, Major Mikhail Konstantinov, senior commissioner of the UEEX for economic crimes, and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Konovalov, deputy head of the Center "E" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Ivanovo region. One of the believers said that during the interrogation, investigator Aleksandr Ryazanov used insulting characteristics in relation to his religious views.

The case of Dmitry Mikhailov was initiated on April 19, 2018 by a senior investigator of the Komsomolsk Interdistrict Investigation Department, seconded to the Investigative Department for the city of Shuya of the Investigative Department for the Ivanovo Region, Captain of Justice Robert Barseghyan. On the same day, Sergey Garber, a judge of the Shuisky City Court, authorized a search of Dmitry Mikhailov's house. The initiation of the criminal case was preceded by operational-search activities that lasted several months, including wiretapping of believers' phones and secret video recording. The criminal case was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate and ban the activities of all 396 registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Law enforcers mistakenly mistake the joint religion of citizens for participation in an extremist organization.

The Case of the Mikhaylovs and Others in Shuya

Case History
Wiretapping, deploying a provocateur, hidden video recording in the homes of believers — that is how the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Shuya began in the spring of 2017. A year later, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against peaceful believer Dmitriy Mikhaylov under three articles for extremism. In 2018, homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched: believers were treated rudely, pressured, and even a 10-year-old girl was interrogated. New defendants appeared in the case: Yelena Mikhaylova, Svetlana Ryzhkova, Svetlana Shishina and Aleksey Arkhipov. Mikhaylov spent 6 months in a pretrial detention center. The case was returned twice to the investigator for revision by the procecutor and by the judge. The consideration of the case on its merits began in May 2022. In January 2024 the court gave its guilty vedict, fining the believers: Arkhipov 380,000, Shishina 400,000, Ryzhkova 480,000, Mikhaylova 560,000, and Dmitriy Mikhaylov 950,000 rubles.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Ivanovo Region
Locality:
Shuya
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participating in and funding of “the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802240009000024
Initiated:
April 19, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Ivanovo Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-1/2024 (1-2/2023; 1-138/2022)
Court:
Шуйский городской суд Ивановской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Антон Мокин
Case History
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