In Gorno-Altaisk, One of Jehovah's Witnesses, Aleksandr Kalistratov, Was Given a Six-and-a-Half Year Suspended Sentence. Participation in Peaceful Religious Meetings Is Viewed as Extremism

On February 17, 2023, the Gorno-Altaisk City Court of the Altai Republic found one of Jehovah's Witness, Aleksandr Kalistratov, guilty of extremism. Aleksandr has already won two trials for his faith. But this time, the judge supported the prosecution and punished the believer with a six-and-a-half year suspended sentence.

One more criminal case against Aleksandr Kalistratov was initiated on December 16, 2021. And a month later, security forces came to search his apartment. They confiscated electronic devices, documents, bank cards and personal notes from the believer. After being interrogated at the Investigative Committee, Aleksandr signed a recognizance agreement. The investigation accused the believer of extremism with the following wording: “For the purpose of secrecy, I determined the places and methods of holding [worship] services using software for video calls via the Internet.”

In August 2022, the case went to court. During the hearing, it was discovered that the courtroom testimony of witnesses for the prosecution contradicted their own testimony given during the preliminary investigation, which they had signed off on. One of the witnesses said that the investigator added information to the protocol that she did not agree with. Another witness stated that the investigator threatened her with detention if she did not sign the protocol. Another man who was questioned in court explained that he signed the protocol without reading it after experiencing severe stress because of the search, during which the FSB officer threatened to shoot his dogs.

Aleksandr Kalistratov told the court: “I have been one of Jehovah's Witness for 29 years. And our government did not suffer from this, and the constitutional order was not destroyed. On the contrary, I try to be a law-abiding person because the Bible encourages me to do so. I don't steal, I don't use violence against anyone, I don't even insult anyone. And I want all people on earth to live in peace and harmony. I regularly read the Bible, meditate on what I read, and discuss with my fellow believers and others what I have learned from the Bible. I do this because I am sure that the Bible can help millions of people become kinder and happier. Is it possible to call such actions unlawful? I'm sure it is not."

The European Court has come to a similar conclusion with respect to Jehovah's Witnesses. The ruling dated June 7, 2022 states: "By seeking to suppress the religious activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses as they did, the Russian authorities failed to act in good faith and breached the State’s duty of neutrality and impartiality vis‑à‑vis the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses."