Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

The Court Placed a Man and a Woman in a Pre-Trial Detention Center After a Wave of Searches at Believers in Primorye Territory

Primorye Territory

On October 6, 2022, in the village of Yaroslavskiy (Primorye Territory), searches were carried out at 12 addresses of those whom the investigation considers to be Jehovah's Witnesses. Two believers—Boris Andreyev, 70, and Nataliya Sharapova, 49,—were detained. The next day, the court sent them to a pre-trial detention center.

According to preliminary information, Andreyev is suspected of organizing the activities of a banned organization (part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and Sharapova of involvement in this activity (part 1.1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

It is known that they will spend at least 22 days in a pre-trial detention center. Some believers, including the elderly, were seized phones by law enforcement officers. After the searches, several people were interrogated.

Update. It became known that on October 12, another believer from the village of Yaroslavskiy, Anatoliy Lee, 37, was arrested. He spent a day in a temporary detention center located in the neighboring village of Khorol, after which the court ruled to send him to a pre-trial detention center until October 28, 2022. Lee is another person involved in the criminal case initiated against Boris Andreyev and Nataliya Sharapova.

This is already the 17th criminal case for faith in Primorye Territory. Twelve Jehovah's Witnesses from the region have been convicted.

The Case of Andreyev and Others in Yaroslavskiy

Case History
In October 2022, law enforcement officers conducted searches at 12 addresses of believers in the village of Yaroslavskiy in Primorye. The Investigative Committee initiated a case against Anatoliy Li and unidentified persons under the article for involving others in the activity of an extremist organization. Later, the charge was reclassified as organizing and participating in such activity. As part of this case, Anatoliy Li and two other believers, Boris Andreyev and Nataliya Sharapova, ended up in a pretrial detention center. The charges were based on video recordings of meetings for worship in which the believers discussed the Bible, sang religious songs and prayed. The case went to court in September 2023. After 9 months, the believers received sentences ranging from 3 to 6.5 years in a penal colony. In September 2024, the court of appeal reduced the sentences of Li and Sharapova by 1 month.The next day, Nataliya was released.
Timeline

Persons in case

Andreyev
Boris
Li
Anatoliy
Sharapova
Nataliya

Criminal case

Region:
Primorye Territory
Locality:
Yaroslavsky
Court case number:
12202050023000021
Initiated:
October 3, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorye Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-8/2024 (1-183/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Khorolskiy District Court of the Primorye Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Tatyana Pogorelaya
Case History
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