Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In Gryazi Town 5 Believers Imprisoned for Talking About God, Among Them a 67-year-old Woman

Lipetsk Region

On November 16, 2020 the Investigative Committee and OMON officers conducted searches at 9 addresses of believers in Gryazi town in Lipetsk region. Five believers, including a pensioner, had already spent the night in the detention center. The court will decide on their further restraint. Another 7 people were released by the law enforcers after the interrogation.

On November 17, the day after their arrest, 42-year-old Sergey Kretov and 46-year-old Yevgeniy Reshetnikov were charged under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code. The Gryazinsky City Court chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention for peaceful believers. Information on the situation of the remaining detainees is being clarified.

Update. On November 18, 67-year-old Natalia Perekatiy, as well as Svetlana Vyrezkova and Tatyana Morlang, were released from custody, against whom the case was initiated under Part 2 of Article 282.2.

The searches were carried out on the basis of 5 criminal cases initiated by an investigator of the first department for investigation of especially important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Lipetsk region under part 1 and 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization and participation in activities of an extremist organization). Electronic devices and personal documents were seized from believers. In the nearest future the court will decide on the measure of restraint in relation to the detainees.

According to the investigation, believers, professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, conducted worship services and sermons. The police interpreted such peaceful religious activity as continuation of the banned religious organization, although the Jehovah's Witnesses religion is not banned in Russia. An official report from the Investigative Committee states that "during the meetings, the suspects discussed religious intolerance towards representatives of other faiths with those who came". In the near future, the court will either require the investigator to prove the allegation - and then release the believers from custody, or take his word for it - and impose a preventive measure on the believers.

The security forces interpret such peaceful religious activity as a continuation of the activities of a banned religious organization, although the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited in Russia.

Previously, three local residents had been prosecuted for their faith in Lipetsk region and held in a detention center for almost a year. At the end of October 2020, the court released them on their own recognizance.

The case of Reshetnikov and Others in Gryazi

Case History
In November 2020, officers of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on extremism, and the next day, accompanied by riot police, conducted a series of searches at 9 addresses of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the town of Gryazi. Five peaceful believers, including two pensioners, were detained and sent to a temporary detention facility. Natalia Perekatiy, Tatyana Morlang and Svetlana Vyrezkova were released 2 days later on their own recognizance, and Yevgeny Reshetnikov and Sergey Kretov were sent to a pre-trial detention center. In June 2021, two more believers were detained as part of the same criminal case: Aleksandr Popras and Valeriy Khmil. No preventive measure was chosen against Popras, and Khmil was placed under house arrest for 57 days. Kretov and Reshetnikov spent about 8 months in a pre-trial detention center and 4 months under house arrest. In November 2023, the court began considering the case.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Lipetsk Region
Locality:
Gryazi
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "deliberately, acting from extremist motives, expressed in the propaganda of the advantage of followers of the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses over other persons, a negative assessment of persons who are not followers of this religious teaching ... continued to spread the ideology and faith of this extremist organization among the residents of Gryazi, Lipetsk Region."
Court case number:
12002420014000029
Initiated:
November 16, 2020
Current case stage:
trial in court of first instance
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Lipetsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-9/2024 (1-164/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Gryazinskiy City Court of the Lipetsk Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Irina Trubitsina
Case History
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