Photo: Vladimir Kulyasov

Photo: Vladimir Kulyasov

Photo: Vladimir Kulyasov

Criminal trial

“I Learned To Restrain Myself Even When They Treat Me Unfairly.” The Last Word of Vladimir Kulyasov at the Trial in Penza

Penza Region

Jehovah's Witnesses do not respond with evil to evil by being guided by the Bible in their deeds and words. They respect authority, because this is what Jehovah God teaches them. On December 12, 2019, a resident of Penza, Vladimir Kulyasov , one of six citizens accused of organizing extremist activities for his faith, spoke about this in court.

Kulyasov's speech did not deter the judge from convicting. Vladimir was given a two-year suspended sentence. The court's decision has been appealed. In anticipation of the appeal hearings, we publish with minor abbreviations the last word of Vladimir Kulyasov, in which he told how the Bible helped him become a useful member of society.

Case of Alushkin and Others in Penza

Case History
In July 2018, searches were carried out in Penza and criminal cases were initiated against 6 local Jehovah’s Witnesses. It turned out that since the fall of 2017, the believers had been under covert surveillance. Vladimir Alushkin spent six months in a pre-trial detention center. The UN Working Group officially recognized his arrest as arbitrary. In the summer of 2019, the case was submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Penza. During the hearings, it turned out that the protocols of the witnesses’ interrogations were partially falsified by the investigation, and one of the witnesses told the court that she had testified under pressure. In December 2019, Judge Roman Tanchenko sentenced Vladimir Alushkin to 6 years in prison, and Tatyana Alushkina, Galia Olkhova, Vladimir Kulyasov, Andrey Magliv and Denis Timoshin to 2 years suspended. In September 2020, the Penza Regional Court commuted the sentence of Vladimir Alushkin, replacing 6 years in prison with 4 years probation. For the rest, the court upheld the sentence - 2 years suspended. On December 9, 2021, the First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Alushkin
Vladimir
Alushkina
Tatyana
Kulyasov
Vladimir
Magliv
Andrey
Olkhova
Galiya
Timoshin
Denis

Criminal case

Region:
Penza Region
Locality:
Penza
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participating in 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:
11802560015000075
Initiated:
July 11, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Bessonovsky Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Penza Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-110/2020 (1-167/2019)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Penza
Case History
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