The Case of Klokov in Barnaul

Evgeny Kozyuchenko, Senior Investigator for Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Altai Territory, is initiating a criminal case against 37-year-old Valery Klokov and 50-year-old Vitaly Manuilov under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of an extremist organization).

Investigator Yevgeny Kozyuchenko, accompanied by FSB officer Artyom Suslikov and two witnesses, searches the home of Valery Klokov. The investigator refuses to call Valery's lawyer. Electronic devices, flash drives, personal records, postcards and a passport are seized from the believer and his wife. The search lasts approximately 2 hours. Then the believer is taken for interrogation to the investigative department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Altai Territory. The investigator summons a lawyer by appointment. At Klokov's request, a lawyer also arrives under the agreement.

After a personal search, the believer is detained and sent to a temporary detention facility, where a second personal search and fingerprinting are conducted.

The judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Barnaul, Danila Teslya, satisfies the investigator's petition and sends Valery Klokov under house arrest.

Investigator Yevgeny Kozuchenko reclassifies Klokov's charge from Part 2 to Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In his opinion, the believer's guilt lies in the fact that at divine services he spoke of "the opposition of Jehovah and Satan ... about the need to live in accordance with the moral laws established by Jehovah, which is manifested in respect for authority (divine), in preference for the spiritual to the material, which is propaganda of the exclusivity and superiority of persons on the basis of belonging to the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Investigator Kozuchenko brings charges against Valery Klokov and Vitaliy Manuilov in the latest version. He sees extremism in the peaceful meetings of these believers with friends, where they "actively quoted the book 'Holy Scripture.'"

The criminal case against Vitaliy Manuilov is separated into separate proceedings.

The case goes to the Industrial District Court of Barnaul. The case will be considered by judge Dmitry Malikov.

Valeriy's restriction measure was changed to a ban on certain actions.

The prosecutor does not agree with the change in the measure of restraint for Valery Klokov and will appeal the court's decision. For the time being, the previous restrictions - house arrest - remain in force.

The prosecutor announces the accusation, with which Valery Klokov does not agree. He explains that his persecution can be regarded as religious persecution, since similar charges were brought against Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany and in the USSR.

A secret witness, Anatoly Zaostrovsky, is being interrogated under the pseudonym Aleksandr Anisimov. During the interrogation, it turns out that the witness does not see the difference between the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses and a legal entity that was liquidated in 2017. In his opinion, being an adherent of the creed and being part of a legal entity are the same thing. The witness admits that he is not aware that the Supreme Court did not consider the legality of the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses.

"Anisimov" speaks positively of Klokov, although he claims that he does not know him personally, only seeing him at services that he has attended since 2015. The witness says that he does not see any threat to himself from Klokov, but refuses to answer the lawyer's question about the reasons for the secrecy.

Valery Klokov testifies. He points out that the case file does not contain any statements by him advocating the superiority of Jehovah's Witnesses. The state prosecution did not cite the time, place and content of such phrases. He says: "The fact that the investigation established my religious affiliation and conducted services with fellow believers does not confirm that I committed a crime ... No unlawful actions were committed at the services imputed to me! Believers only peacefully discussed religious issues based on the Bible."