Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Three Believers Detained After Searches in the Astrakhan Region

Astrakhan Region

On November 9, 2021, searches of believers were carried out in Akhtubinsk and Znamensk. Dozens of people were detained for interrogation. Three men were sent to a temporary detention facility: 48-year-old Sergey Korolev, 60-year-old Sergey Kosyanenko and 34-year-old Rinat Kiramov.

The raids and interrogations began at about 6 am. In at least one of the cases - during a search at Rinat Kiramov's house - the security forces broke down the front doors of the believers' dwelling. Details are being clarified.

Update. On November 10 and 11, 2021, the Akhtubinsky District Court imprisoned Sergey Korolev, Sergey Kosyanenko and Rinat Kiramov for 2 months.

New searches and arrests in the region came shortly after the court handed down one of the harshest sentences since the ban on legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. On October 25, 2021, Rustam Diarov, Sergey Klikunov and Yevgeniy Ivanov were sentenced to 8 years, and Yevgeniy's wife, Olga, to 3.5 years in a general regime colony.

The Case of Korolev and Others in Akhtubinsk

Case History
On a morning in November 2021, in Akhtubinsk and Znamensk (Astrakhan Region) Jehovah’s Witnesses were interrogated and their homes were searched. Prior to that some of them had been under surveillance. The security forces broke down doors, damaged property, and forced both men and women to the floor. The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Sergey Korolev, Rinat Kiramov and Sergey Kosyanenko, considering peaceful meetings for worship to be extremist activity. The believers were placed in a temporary detention facility, and then in a pretrial detention center, where they spent more than 1.5 years. In October 2022, the case went to court. Some witnesses for the prosecution, including a secret witness, partially or completely retracted their preliminary testimony. In April 2023, the court sentenced Korolev, Kiramov and Kosyanenko to 7 years imprisonment. Four months later, the court of appeal upheld the verdict against the believers. The court of cassation upheld this decision. In April 2024, Rinat Kiramov was unlawfully transferred to correctional medical facility No. 3 in the Tula Region, where he was subjected to abuse and torture.
Timeline

Persons in case

Kiramov
Rinat
Korolev
Sergey
Kosyanenko
Sergey

Criminal case

Region:
Astrakhan Region
Locality:
Akhtubinsk
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "organized meetings ... including the use of video conferencing ... namely, in the form of collective religious worship consisting of the public reproduction of audio and video recordings... sequential singing of songs from a special collection of religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and prayers to Jehovah God."
Court case number:
12102120006000100
Initiated:
November 9, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Akhtubinsk Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Astrakhan Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-9/2023 (1–342/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Ахтубинский районный суд Астраханской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Анатолий Проскурин
Case History