Case of Shmidt in Sevastopol

Case History

In October 2020, security forces searched the homes of local believers in Sevastopol. The next day, the court sent four of them, including Igor Schmidt, to the pre-trial detention center. He was accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization only because of his faith. Schmidt spent six months in a pre-trial detention center, after which he was transferred to house arrest. In April 2021, the judge of the Gagarinsky District Court of the city of Sevastopol, Lyudmila Tumaykina, began consideration of the case. The prosecutor requested 7 years in a general regime colony for Igor Schmidt. In October 2021, the court sentenced him to 6 years in prison, and in January 2022, the appeal upheld this decision. The believer is serving time in a colony.
Timeline

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    FSB officer A. A. Dmitrienko makes inquiries and establishes that Igor Schmidt, together with other believers, takes part in religious services, which is interpreted as "organizing the activities of a banned religious organization."

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    Senior Investigator for Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol S. A. Bosiyev initiates a criminal case against Igor Schmidt on suspicion of organizing the activities of an extremist organization under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

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    Search Interrogation Temporary detention facility Detention center Art. 282.2 (1) Case initiated

    The Leninsky District Court of Sevastopol sends Igor Schmidt to pre-trial detention center No. 1 of Russia in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

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    The Court of Appeal changes the measure of restraint for a believer to house arrest. He spent about 6 months in the pre-trial detention center.

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    The materials of the criminal case of Igor Schmidt are received by the Gagarinsky District Court of the city of Sevastopol.

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    The first court hearing in the case of Igor Schmidt is underway. Listeners who come to support the believer are allowed into the hall.

    Judge Lyudmila Tumaykina rejects the accused's petition to mitigate the measure of restraint from house arrest to prohibition of certain actions and satisfies the request to familiarize herself with the materials of the criminal case. Schmidt remains under house arrest until at least September 30, 2021 inclusive.

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    The court is questioning two witnesses. None of them can confirm that Jehovah's Witnesses voiced calls inciting religious hatred against other religions. They have never heard believers urge them to disobey the authorities or to refuse to perform their civic duties. The men interrogated by the court admit that the believers did not force them to attend services or to make donations. When asked whether they noticed any aggression or bitterness at meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses, the interrogated respondents reply that the believers, on the contrary, "treated each other humanly, with understanding."

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    In the Gagarinsky District Court, the debate of the parties begins. Igor Schmidt speaks about the prosecution witness Sergey Korkushko, who previously testified against Viktor Stashevskiy, who was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison: "[He] is not known to me or to other witnesses as a person who has ever attended Christian services of Jehovah's Witnesses, but he is known as a provocateur who is used by the FSB to illegally and shamefully persecute Jehovah's Witnesses in Sevastopol. This witness gives knowingly false and contradictory testimony. Also, these testimonies are word for word identical to the testimony of FSB officer Dmitrienko, which indicates their falsification.

    "All the materials in the case prove exclusively that I belong to the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has not been banned in Russia by any court," Schmidt adds.

    The prosecutor asks the court to sentence the believer to 7 years in a penal colony.

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    Deprivation of liberty First Instance Sentence Art. 282.2 (1) Final statement

    Judge Lyudmila Tumaykina found the believer guilty and sentenced him to 6 years in prison in a penal colony.

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    Court of Appeal

    Sevastopol City Court (Sevastopol, Suvorov Street, 20). The hearing has been postponed to January 13, 2022.

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    Court of Appeal

    The Court of Appeal in Sevastopol rejects Igor Schmidt's appeal against the verdict handed down by the Gagarinsky District Court. The verdict comes into force.

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    Court of Appeal Deprivation of liberty Art. 282.2 (1)
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    Igor Schmidt was sent to Krasnodar for further transfer to the colony. It is still unknown where the believer will serve his sentence for believing in God.

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    Life in prison

    It becomes known that Igor Schmidt arrived at the Correctional Colony No. 10 in Rostov-on-Don. He is in quarantine.

    Two more believers, Aleksandr Ivshin and Aleksandr Parkov, are serving their sentences in the same colony.

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    Life in prison
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    The Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Krasnodar leaves the verdict against Igor Schmidt unchanged. The believer is grateful to his fellow believers from Krasnodar who came to support him. After the announcement of the decision, he was able to chat with friends, which especially touched him.

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    Life in prison

    In the colony, Igor sews medical gowns. The administration treats him well. The believer regularly receives parcels from his relatives.

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    Life in prison Letters

    Igor Schmidt is being held in satisfactory conditions. The room is warm, but the believer suffers from cigarette smoke, as he has a bronchial disease.

    Schmidt regularly receives parcels and letters. He has a Bible. He has a neutral relationship with the administration.

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    Life in prison

    Igor is transferred to a new sewing workshop. There are good sanitary conditions and better food. The attitude of the employees at work to him is respectful.

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    Life in prison Letters

    90 people live in the barracks where Igor Schmidt is kept. The believer has the opportunity to take walks in the fresh air. Lately, he has not received e-mails, and paper ones arrive with a delay and in small quantities. Igor tries not to lose his positive attitude.

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