Photo: Investigative Department for the city of Shuya

Photo: Investigative Department for the city of Shuya

Photo: Investigative Department for the city of Shuya

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

New searches in Shuya, 10-year-old child interrogated

Ivanovo Region

On June 26, 2018, in the city of Shuya (Ivanovo Region), police conducted new searches in the homes of citizens believed to be Jehovah's Witnesses. Adults and a young child were interrogated, and three citizens were asked not to leave on their own recognizance. Earlier, on April 20, 2018, mass searches were already carried out in the homes of believers in the city. 40-year-old Dmitry Mikhailov was sent to a pre-trial detention center.

According to investigators, a hidden video camera was installed in one of the believers' apartments. After new searches, the believers were taken to the body of the Investigative Committee. A 10-year-old girl was also taken there and interrogated there. During the interrogation, in the presence of the school psychologist, the child was forced to disclose the religion of the family, she burst into tears. Her mother threatened that if she refused to cooperate with the investigation, she could be charged with another crime - "involving minors in the commission of a crime."

It became known that new criminal cases were initiated and a written undertaking not to leave four local residents, a man and three women, including Elena Mikhailova, the wife of Dmitry Mikhailov, was taken. Since May 29, 2018, Dmitry Mikhailov has been in custody in a pre-trial detention center, although he is the only son of an elderly mother and takes care of her, has a permanent place of residence and work, as well as other close social ties in the city of Shuya.

The accusation is built by substituting concepts: the constitutional right of everyone to profess his religion and the criminal offense of participation in an extremist organization. Electronic devices, hard drives, cameras, personal notes, documents, Bibles, including in the Orthodox Synodal translation, musical notes and even a children's diary of a music school were confiscated from citizens. A new criminal case has been initiated. The investigator for all cases is Captain of Justice Alexander Ryazantsev. Earlier, believers in this city reported that during interrogations, Captain Ryazantsev insulted them and their religious beliefs.

The repression for faith in Shuya drew the attention of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation. On June 20, 2018, the Council mentioned criminal proceedings in this city and called on the Prosecutor General's Office to check the legality of initiating these and similar cases in other cities.

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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