Five Believers From Balakovo Were Sentenced for Discussing the Bible: Two Received Suspended Sentences, Three – Fines

On November 23, 2023, Natalya Nikitinskaya, judge of the Balakovo District Court of the Saratov Region gave Jehovah's Witnesses Aleksey Bogatov and Vladimir Mavrin a 6-year suspended sentence with a 4-year probation period. Their fellow believers Andrey Murych, Sergey Tyurin and Yevgeniy Fomashin, were fined 300,000 rubles.

According to law enforcement officers, the believers committed extremist actions, "resuming and organizing the activity of the local religious unit [Jehovah's Witnesses] on the territory of the city of Balakovo, by holding meetings and carrying out preaching activity." The criminal case was initiated in February 2022. A month later, security forces invaded the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses with searches that lasted for several hours and took place in the presence of the elderly, the disabled and a child. After interrogations, which ended after midnight, Bogatov, Mavrin, Fomashin, Murych and Tyurin were placed behind bars, where they spent 304 days each, after which a preventive measure not related to detention was imposed. The state prosecutor requested 7 years in a penal colony for Mavrin and Bogatov, and 3 years for the rest.

Before the verdict was announced, about 200 people gathered outside the courthouse: friends and simply caring people who wanted to provide emotional support to the believers. Approximately 20 of them were allowed into the courtroom. The defendants came to the hearing with bags of their belongings – in case they were deprived of their liberty. Although the judge decided to give suspended sentences and fines, the believers consider themselves innocent of extremism and can appeal the verdict.

Recalling the experience, Alexey Bogatov said that during his custody in the pretrial detention center, the support of his wife, friends and other caring people helped him. He said, "[The letters] gave me strength and joy... Fellow believers constantly call my wife and assure her that they love us very much and always pray for us. They help practically - share products from their gardens."

Yevgeniy Fomashin: "In the pretrial detention center, I was convinced many times how the principles written in the Bible protected me from bad association, from getting involved in unworthy prison life."

Before the start of the criminal prosecution, Andrey Murych was the only breadwinner in the family. After he was taken into custody, his wife spent a long time looking for work. The believer was only able to see her on a short visit after 4 months, before that he communicated with his family through letters. During the 10 months in the pretrial detention center, the believer received 1802 letters from all over the world. He says, "It made a huge impression not only on me, but also on my cellmates."

Vladimir Mavrin said that the most difficult thing for him was separation from his wife, son, granddaughter and elderly mother: "I was worried about them... since I couldn't take care of them." Unfortunately, 5 months after the arrest of the believer, his mother was hospitalized due to great anxiety and a week later she died. The support and care that his friends and relatives provided to Mavrin by correspondence (once he received 70 letters in one day) gave him strength.

Sergey Tyurin said: "In the pretrial detention center, I saw how people lose the support of friends over time. It's safe to say that we have the opposite: we made even more friends."

Due to the actions of law enforcement agencies in the Saratov Region, 12 people have already suffered from groundless criminal prosecution. Among them are 7 believers who have already served their sentences in a penal colony, three of them were deported and deprived of citizenship of the Russian Federation.