Photo source: londondeposit / depositphotos.com

Photo source: londondeposit / depositphotos.com

Photo source: londondeposit / depositphotos.com

Criminal Investigation and Trial

In Ulyanovsk, one believer was sent to prison, four were placed under house arrest

Ulyanovsk Region

On February 28, 2019, Svetlana Chebukina, a judge of the Leninsky District Court of Ulyanovsk, sent 53-year-old Sergey Mysin to jail. The man is accused of "organizing an extremist organization" in connection with his religion. His wife Nataliya, as well as 46-year-old Andriy Tabakov, 33-year-old Khoren Khachikyan and 58-year-old Mikhail Zelensky were placed under house arrest.

The case against residents of Ulyanovsk, who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, was initiated by the local FSB. The believers are accused of "promoting the popularization of the ideas of Jehovah's Witnesses, promoting the superiority of these ideas over other religious teachings, finding venues for meetings of members of this organization, and directly participating in the events held." On February 27, searches were conducted in the apartments.

Sergey Mysin, according to the court order, will be held in SIZO-1 in the Ulyanovsk region until April 23, 2019 inclusive. The man is accused of "organizing an extremist organization" in connection with his religion.

Law enforcers mistakenly mistake citizens' religion for participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Prominent public figures of Russia, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, as well as international organizations - the European Union External Action Service, observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - drew attention to this problem. Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to do with extremism and insist on their complete innocence. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually."

Case of Zelenskiy and Others in Ulyanovsk

Case History
In 2019, the FSB in Ulyanovsk opened a case against the Mysins and their co-religionists Zelensky, Tabakov, Ganin and Khachikyan. After the searches, they were sent to jail and later under house arrest. In addition, savings and cars worth 1.5 million rubles were seized from believers. The charge under Article 282.2 was limited to participation in “activities that included religious chanting, preaching, study of the article and prayer.” Believers were seriously worried about the repressions, Sergey Mysin, who spent 2 months behind bars, ended up in intensive care. The state prosecutor recommended that all six be sent to a general regime colony for terms ranging from 3 to 7 years, as well as confiscate the seized property and money. The court of first instance sentenced them to suspended imprisonment for terms of up to 3.5 years. The court of appeal increased the suspended sentence for Sergey Mysin by six months - up to 4 years - and left the sentences unchanged for the rest of the believers.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Ulyanovsk Region
Locality:
Ulyanovsk
Suspected of:
“popularization of the ideas of Jehovah's Witnesses, promoting the superiority of these ideas over other religious teachings, finding venues for meetings of participants in this organization, and direct participation in meetings.”
Court case number:
11907730001000006
Initiated:
February 24, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia for the Ulyanovsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-220/2020
Court of First Instance:
Засвияжский районный суд г. Ульяновска
Case History
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