Case of Seidkuliev in Saratov

Case History

In January 2020, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Rustam Seidkuliev. He was accused of extremism for reading and discussing the Bible. Two weeks later, the police detained a believer in a shopping center in Adler. He was transported to the city of Saratov and placed under house arrest for seven months. In March 2021, Seidkuliev’s case came to court. Two months later he was found guilty and sentenced to two and a half years in a general regime colony. The regional court reduced this period by two months. The Court of Cassation approved this decision. Seidkuliev served his sentence in Penal Colony-33 in Saratov. During this time, the FSB accomplished the revocation of his Russian citizenship. In April 2023, the believer was released from the colony, and in September he was deported to Turkmenistan.

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    January 29, 2020

    Sergey Sirotin, investigator of the Leninsky District Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Saratov Region, initiates a criminal case against Rustam Seidkuliev under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, accusing him of participating in the activities of a religious association banned by the court.

    The resolution states that, while on the territory of the Leninsky district of Saratov, Rustam Seidkuliev took part in the activities of the local division of the religious organization, namely in conversations about the Bible and in attracting new participants.

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    February 15, 2020

    Adler police officers detain the Seidkulievs in a shopping center and take Rustam to the police station for identification. The couple have been in Sochi for a year now, where they moved for family reasons.

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    February 16, 2020

    Rustam is told that he is wanted for hooliganism and sent to Adler's special detention center for 5 days.

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    February 20, 2020

    5 FSB officers from Saratov under escort transport a believer to the temporary detention center in the city of Engels.

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    February 21, 2020

    The believer is formally charged and interrogated as an accused under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

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    February 22, 2020

    The judge of the Leninsky District Court of Saratov, Oksana Kulumbekova, chooses house arrest for Rustam Seidkuliev as a preventive measure for a period of 2 months, that is, until April 20, 2020 inclusive.

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    March 11, 2020
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    April 17, 2020

    The judge extends Rustam Seidkuliev's period of detention under house arrest for 1 month, until May 20, 2020 inclusive.

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    April 29, 2020

    The head of the investigation department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Saratov region extends the period of the preliminary investigation in the criminal case by 2 months, and in total up to 5 months, that is, until June 29, 2020.

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    May 20, 2020

    The judge extends Rustam Seidkuliev's period of detention under house arrest for 1 month, until June 20, 2020 inclusive.

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    June 18, 2020

    The judge of the Leninsky District Court of Saratov, Trofimova S.V., at the request of the investigator, extends the term of house arrest for Rustam Seidkuliev by 9 days, and up to 4 months and 9 days in total, that is, until June 29, 2020 inclusive. Rustam is forbidden to communicate with witnesses in a criminal case, leave his home, use all types of communication, including the Internet.

    During this short period of time, the investigator will need to examine the video and items seized by the FSB officers, attach evidence, interview witnesses, bring charges in the final version, draw up an indictment and send it to the prosecutor's office, as well as perform other investigative actions.

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    June 29, 2020

    The judge of the Leninsky District Court of Saratov, A. V. Efimov, satisfies the petition of the senior investigator R. S. Sirotin and, taking into account the "gravity of the crime", extends Rustam Seidkuliev's house arrest for another 1 month, until July 29, 2020 inclusive, i.e. up to 5 months and 9 days in total. The judge allows the believer to take daily walks in the local area from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

    Sirotin motivates the extension of house arrest by the fact that "it is necessary to bring charges against Rustam in the final version and interrogate him as an accused." A peaceful believer is accused of "committing a deliberate grave crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the state, which has an increased degree of public danger."

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    September 25, 2020

    In relation to Rustam Seidkuliev, a preventive measure is chosen in the form of a ban on certain actions.

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    March 16, 2021

    R. Sirotin, investigator of the Investigative Directorate for the Leninsky District of Saratov, of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Saratov Region, is prosecuting Rustam Seidkuliev as a defendant under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The indictment contains evidence collected during the preliminary investigation, which will now be considered in court.

    The first court hearing is scheduled for April 20.

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    April 20, 2021

    The first court hearing in the case of Rustam Siedkuliev is held in the Leninsky District Court of Saratov.

    The prosecutor reads out the charges, stating that "at an unspecified time" and "in an unidentified place," Rustam Seidkuliev "had a criminal intent to commit illegal actions to participate in the activities of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses." According to the indictment, Seidkuliev, "acting from extremist motives, realizing that by his actions he undermines the foundations of the constitutional order and state security," continued to participate in worship services of believers and talk to others about God.

    The defendant, expressing his attitude to the charges, draws the court's attention to the fact that the prosecutor's statements do not meet the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the law, the case materials submitted to the court must contain the essence of the charge, the place and time of the crime, its methods, motives, goals, and consequences of the crime. But none of the above is in the indictment.

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    April 29, 2021

    Two prosecution witnesses are being questioned. One of them states that the defendant did not involve him in the activities of any religious organization.

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    May 20, 2021 First Instance Sentence

    Judge Andrey Efimov finds Rustam Seidkuliev guilty of extremism and sentences him to 2.5 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony and 1 year of restriction of freedom after his release.

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    August 5, 2021 Court of Appeal

    The Saratov Regional Court slightly mitigates the punishment imposed on Rustam Seidkuliev by the court of first instance. The believer was sentenced to 2 years and 4 months in a general regime colony. The verdict has entered into force.

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    October 4, 2021 Life in prison

    It becomes known that in early September, Rustam Seidkuliev was transferred from SIZO-1 to Correctional Colony No. 33, located on the outskirts of the city of Saratov. There he will serve his sentence for his Christian beliefs.

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    April 1, 2022

    The FSB Directorate for the Saratov Region initiates the process of depriving Rustam Seidkuliev of Russian citizenship.

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    May 31, 2022 Court of Cassation

    The First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Saratov leaves the appellate ruling of the Saratov Regional Court against Rustam Seidkuliev unchanged.

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    April 7, 2023
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    September 17, 2023 Deportation