Photo: Konstantin with his wife Irina

Photo: Konstantin with his wife Irina

Photo: Konstantin with his wife Irina

Criminal trial

"You should not be ashamed of your faith, but, on the contrary, you should rejoice." Konstantin Bazhenov's last speech at the trial in Saratov

Saratov Region

On September 19, 2019, the Leninsky District Court of Saratov sentenced Konstantin Bazhenov and five of his fellow believers to various terms of imprisonment for their faith. The text of Constantine's last word, uttered by him the day before the verdict, is given.

In his speech, the defendant hardly spoke about the legal aspects of the prosecution and focused on its spiritual side. "It is better to suffer for good deeds than for evil ones," he quoted Jesus Christ as saying. He then gave a brief account of what Jehovah's Witnesses believe in and how they live, and at the end he read a poem of his own composition.

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Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov

Case History
In September 2019, Judge Dmitry Larin immediately sent 6 Saratov residents to prison for a term of 2 to 3.5 years just for reading the Bible, singing songs and praying. Since 2017, security forces have been conducting covert surveillance of believers. In the summer of 2018, their homes were searched with banned literature planted. While the investigation was underway, they had to go to a pre-trial detention center, under house arrest and under recognizance not to leave. A year later, despite the absence of victims in the case, the believers were found guilty. Upon arrival at the Orenburg colony, 5 out of 6 convicted believers were beaten by the staff of the institution. Mahammadiev was hospitalized, and the rest were placed in a punishment cell for a while. Saratov prisoners of conscience have mastered various professions in prison. In May 2020, Mahammadiev and Bazhenov were stripped of their Russian citizenship and, after their release, deported from Russia. All 6 believers have already served their sentences. In September 2022, the cassation court dismissed the complaint, and the verdict and the appellate ruling were unchanged.
Timeline

Persons in case

Bazhenov
Konstantin
Budenchuk
Aleksey
German
Gennadiy
Gridasov
Roman
Makhammadiyev
Feliks
Miretskiy
Aleksey

Criminal case

Region:
Saratov Region
Locality:
Saratov
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, together with others he conducted religious services, which is interpreted as “organising 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:
11807630001000037
Initiated:
June 9, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Saratov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-333/2019
Case History