Court of Appeal in Novosibirsk Upheld The Harsh Sentence Against Pensioner Aleksandr Seredkin - 6 Years in a Penal Colony for His Faith

On June 16, 2023, the Novosibirsk Regional Court, chaired by Judge Alexandra Bogdanova, upheld the sentence against 68-year-old Aleksandr Seredkin. The decision of the lower court entered into force.

The believer is still in the detention center, he attended the hearing in the court of appeal via video conferencing. At the hearing, the prosecutor petitioned for the disclosure of documents that were not examined in the court of first instance, but formed the basis of the verdict. According to the defense, this is a gross violation of the law. However, the panel of judges did not satisfy the objection.

In the closing arguments, the lawyer noted that the lower court allowed the substitution of the concepts "organization and participation in the activity of a religious association in connection with the liquidation of extremist activity" and "implementation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion". The defense paid special attention to the fact that Aleksandr's actions belong to the second concept and that there is no crime in them, since singing songs and praying are not prohibited by the law of the Russian Federation. There are no victims in the criminal case, and nothing prohibited was found in the literature confiscated from Aleksandr.

Addressing the court, the believer stated that he never coordinated a group of his friends, never controlled them, and never gave any instructions. He added that he has always been and remains a law-abiding citizen, obeys the laws of the Bible, which teach love, honesty and kindness, and for his peaceful activities is doomed to a "life" sentence, because when the sentence expires, Aleksandr will be 74 years old.

Dozens of Russian human rights activists consider such an attitude towards believers " senseless and heartless ".