Case of Shcherbina in Kholmskaya

Case History

In the spring of 2020, Aleksandr Shcherbina was subjected to a search and was summoned for interrogation as a witness in a criminal case against his fellow believer Aleksandr Ivshin. Six months later, FSB investigator Komissarov initiated a criminal case for “participation in the activity of an extremist organization” against Shcherbina himself. Law enforcement officers secretly videotaped Bible discussions and considered such conversations to be a continuation of the activity of a banned organization. In December, Aleksandr’s house was searched again. In April 2021, the Abinsk District Court sentenced the believer to 3 years in a penal colony. In June 2021, a court of appeal reduced the sentence to 2 years imprisonment. The believer filed a cassation appeal against the verdict, but the court left it unsatisfied. On February 22, 2023, Shcherbina was released after serving his main sentence.
Timeline

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    Search Interrogation Health risk Recognizance agreement Elderly

    The home of Alexander Shcherbina is being searched by order of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar. It becomes known that law enforcement officers have records of how believers read and discussed the Bible via the Internet. After the search, Aleksandr Shcherbina is interrogated as a witness in the criminal case against Aleksandr Ivshin.

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    O. I. Komissarov, investigator of the 2nd branch of the Krasnodar Territory Directorate of the FSB, initiates a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code against 44-year-old Alexander Shcherbina.

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    At 6:30 a.m., the security forces conducted a second search in the home of Aleksandr Shcherbina. The search lasts 2 hours. Bibles in various translations and electronic devices are seized from the believer. Copies of the decisions are not provided to him.

    Then he was brought to the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Abinsk District in the Krasnodar Territory for interrogation by the senior investigator, Major of Justice G. G. Gulmagomedov. Aleksandr Shcherbina is interrogated in the status of the accused. The interrogation lasts 20 minutes. They take a written undertaking not to leave the place.

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    Court hearings begin in the Abinsk District Court of the Krasnodar Territory, chaired by Sergey Mikhin.

    Aleksandr Shcherbina expresses his attitude to the charge of participation in extremist activities: "I do not plead guilty and believe that the charge against me is illegal. [...] In fact, I am accused of believing in God and remaining a Jehovah's Witness, that is, using the right guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. [...] My religious views are based on the Bible, so they are the exact opposite of what is called extremism. The materials of the criminal case do not prove the opposite. [...] [I] am being prosecuted solely for my peaceful religious activities." The believer also refers to the resolution of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which called for the termination of criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses.

    The court interrogates the prosecution witness, FSB operative Stanislav Bochin.

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    Prosecutor requests sentence Deprivation of liberty Art. 282.2 (2) Prosecutor requested punishment First Instance Sentence

    During the debate in the Abinsk District Court of the Krasnodar Territory, the prosecutor requests a sentence of 3 years in a general regime colony for Aleksandr Shcherbina.

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    First Instance Sentence Deprivation of liberty Art. 282.2 (2) Detention center

    Judge of the Abinsk District Court of the Krasnodar Territory Sergey Mikhin sentences Aleksandr Shcherbina to 3 years in a general regime colony. The believer can appeal the verdict.

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    Life in prison

    It becomes known that Aleksandr Shcherbina was transferred to colony No. 9 in the city of Khadyzhensk. He can receive letters of support.

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    Life in prison

    The lawyer visits Aleksandr Shcherbina in the colony. Aleksandr is being held in the same cell with fellow believer Oleg Danilov and two other prisoners. The believer was sick recently, but now he feels better, takes walks in the fresh air. He is grateful to his friends for letters and parcels.

    Aleksandr hopes that the appellate court will find him not guilty.

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    Court of Appeal

    Appeal hearings begin in the Krasnodar Regional Court. Aleksandr Shcherbina's appeal speech with the last word and the possible announcement of the verdict were postponed until June 24.

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    Court of Appeal Deprivation of liberty Mitigation of punishment Art. 282.2 (2)

    Judge of the Krasnodar Regional Court Vadim Kuksa does not satisfy the appeal of the believer and mitigates the sentence of the lower court — the believer is imprisoned for 2 years instead of 3. The verdict shall take effect immediately.

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    Life in prison

    Aleksandr Shcherbina was transferred from colony No. 9 in the city of Khadyzhensk to a penal colony in the Rostov region. His exact whereabouts are still unknown.

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    Life in prison

    The whereabouts of Aleksandr Shcherbina become known: he was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 12 in the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky (Rostov Region). He can receive letters of support.

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    Life in prison

    The lawyer visits Aleksandr Shcherbina in the penal colony. The convict looks thinner, but does not complain about his health.

    It turns out that after 14 days of quarantine, the believer was unreasonably placed in a punishment cell for two weeks. The decision on placement in the punishment cell indicates a far-fetched reason: "swore obscenities." (For Jehovah's Witnesses, the use of abusive language is unacceptable on religious grounds.)

    The administration of the colony has not yet handed over to Aleksandr the letters that come to him in the colony. Requests for a Bible remain unanswered. Nevertheless, he tries to maintain a positive attitude.

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    Life in prison

    It becomes known that Aleksandr Shcherbina was again placed in the punishment cell of the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky penal colony. The reason and duration of the sentence are unknown.

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    Life in prison

    It becomes known that Aleksandr Shcherbina was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 10 in Rostov-on-Don.

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    Life in prison

    The lawyer visits Aleksandr Shcherbina in correctional colony No. 10 in Rostov-on-Don. The believer says that the conditions of his detention are normal, his health is satisfactory. He has a Bible and receives regular letters of support. For the entire time of imprisonment, he received about 3000 of them.

    The administration and cellmates treat the believer with respect. In the colony, Aleksandr learned to be an auto mechanic, and plans to start working soon.

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    Court of Cassation

    The Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar, presided over by Judge Omar Omarov, upholds the verdict and the appeal ruling against Alexander Shcherbina. The believer will be kept in a general regime colony, presumably until February 2023.

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    Release from penal colony Art. 282.2 (2)
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