Photo: Evgeny Aksyonov
In the Railway Court of Khabarovsk, the trial of the faith of a 52-year-old employee of a water utility began
Khabarovsk TerritoryOn October 28, 2019, the trial of Yevgeny Aksyonov continued in Khabarovsk, whose "guilt", according to the investigation, is that he read the Holy Scriptures with his friends. In August, FSB officers searched the apartment of this civilian resident of Khabarovsk and his family, and a written undertaking not to leave was taken from the believer.
On October 21, 2019, the first hearing in the case of Yevgeny Aksyonov, chaired by Judge Tatyana Kalganova, was held in the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Khabarovsk. 15 people came to support him. Despite the fact that Russian law encourages the publicity of legal proceedings, they were not allowed into the courtroom. The judge granted the lawyer's request to postpone the hearing.
At the court hearing on October 28, Aksyonov expressed his attitude to the charges. Yevgeny believes that in fact he is accused not of extremism, but of faith in God, because he did not commit any socially dangerous actions. He recalled that the Supreme Court banned the activities of a legal entity. Being a believer and reading the Bible is not a crime. Freedom of religious activity is guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The next court hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2019 at 11:30 a.m.
On September 2, 2019, the Khabarovsk Railway Court sentenced another peaceful believer, Valery Moskalenko, to 2 years and 2 months of forced labor. This judgment is being appealed.