Viktor Bachurin, Alexandr Kostrov and Artur Netreba at the courthouse. February 2023

Viktor Bachurin, Alexandr Kostrov and Artur Netreba at the courthouse. February 2023

Viktor Bachurin, Alexandr Kostrov and Artur Netreba at the courthouse. February 2023

Unjust Verdicts

Court of Cassation Upheld the Sentence of Three Jehovah's Witnesses From Lipetsk. A Year Ago, They Were Fined for Their Beliefs

Lipetsk Region

On February 16, 2023, the First Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Saratov upheld the fines imposed on Artur Netreba, Viktor Bachurin and Alexandr Kostrov for their faith in God. Each of them paid 300 thousand rubles.

Thus, the court of cassation agreed with the decisions of the courts of first and appeal instances, which found the men guilty of extremism only for participating in religious services and “preaching the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses.”

In their appeals, the believers noted that “peaceful conversation about God with fellow believers or with other people without calls for violence, discrimination and degrading treatment of any social group, cannot pose a danger to the public. Circumstances indicating that the residents of Lipetsk needed increased protection after [conducting religious services with the participation of the defendants or their conversations about religious beliefs] have not been established.”

The European Court in its decision explicitly stated that “by seeking to suppress the religious activity of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Russian authorities failed to act in good faith and breached the state's duty of neutrality and impartiality vis-a-vis the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses” (§ 254).

Case of Netreba and Others in Lipetsk

Case History
In December 2019, three peaceful residents from Lipetsk - Artur Netreba, Alexandr Kostrov and Viktor Bachurin - ended up behind bars, where they spent almost a year. The FSB investigator considered conducting “religious meetings”, resolving “issues of a religious nature” and “pastoral service” “a grave crime against the constitutional order.” The believers were accused of participating in the activity of an extremist organization. In December 2020, the case went to court. The prosecutor requested 4 years in a penal colony and 8 months restriction of freedom for the believers. In November 2021, the court found them guilty and imposed a fine of 500 thousand rubles on all three, which was reduced to 300 thousand rubles, since the defendants spent almost a year in pre-trial detention. The court of appeal, and later the court of cassation, upheld this verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Lipetsk Region
Locality:
Lipetsk
Court case number:
11907420001000023
Initiated:
December 2, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
СО УФСБ РФ по Липецкой области
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-83/2021 (1-501/2020)
Court:
Советский районный суд г. Липецка
Judge:
Александр Устинов
Case History
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