Pavel Brilkov with his wife on the day of the appeal near the Kemerovo Regional Court

Pavel Brilkov with his wife on the day of the appeal near the Kemerovo Regional Court

Pavel Brilkov with his wife on the day of the appeal near the Kemerovo Regional Court

Unjust Verdicts

Two Years Suspended Instead of Three Years of Forced Labor for Reading the Bible In Kemerovo, The Court of Appeal Changed the Sentence of a Pensioner

Kemerovo Region

Pavel Brilkov, one of Jehovah's Witnesses from Prokopyevsk, will serve a two-year suspended sentence for his faith by the decision of Kemerovo Regional Court on March 12, 2024. Two months earlier, a lower court had sentenced him to two years and ten months of forced labor, despite his disability and retirement age.

Addressing the appeals board, Brilkov said that he considers the case fabricated, and himself innocent. "My conscience is calm because I have not violated either the Criminal Code or the law of God - by my actions I have not caused any harm to anyone," he said in his final plea.

The criminal prosecution of Brilkov began in March 2023. Until the verdict was passed, he was under recognizance not to leave.

In the Kemerovo Region, 18 Jehovah's Witnesses were prosecuted, including three women.

The case of Brilkov in Prokopyevsk

Case History
Pavel Brilkov, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Prokopyevsk, faced persecution for his faith back in 2020, when he was brought in as a witness in the case of Andrey Vlasov. In the fall of 2021, the house of Brilkov and his wife was searched, then the believer was interrogated. In March 2023, the believer himself became a defendant in a criminal case. According to the investigator of the Investigative Committee, he is guilty of extremism, because he “explained the meaning of excerpts from the Holy Scriptures.” In May 2023, hearings began in the case of the believer, and in January 2024, the court sentenced him to two years and ten months of forced labor. The appeal changed the sentence to two years suspended.
Timeline

Persons in case

Brilkov
Pavel

Criminal case

Region:
Kemerovo Region
Locality:
Prokopyevsk
Suspected of:
"repeatedly spoke out and explained the meaning and essence of excerpts from the Holy Scriptures (the Bible) and supplemented the answers of adherents of the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses at a religious meeting" (from the decision to bring as an accused)
Court case number:
12202320012000037
Initiated:
March 30, 2023
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate for Prokopyevsk of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region - Kuzbass
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-203/2023
Court of First Instance:
Центральный районный суд г. Прокопьевска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Алёна Новосёлова
Case History