Photo source: blinow61 / depositphotos.com

Photo source: blinow61 / depositphotos.com

Photo source: blinow61 / depositphotos.com

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

A 39-year-old believer was arrested in Khabarovsk

Magadan Region,   Khabarovsk Territory

On the evening of May 30, 2018, 39-year-old Ivan Puyda, who is suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, was taken into custody in Khabarovsk. His apartment was searched, during which his wife Anastasia and her mother Olga were also present.

It is noteworthy that the arrest warrant for Ivan Puida was issued by a court in Magadan, where three believers were arrested on the same day .

Russian law enforcement officers mistakenly mistake the joint religion of citizens for participation in an extremist organization and bring charges against them of "organizing" or "participating" in "extremist activities", and even of "financing" it (282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

The Case of Puyda and Others in Magadan

Case History
After a series of searches in Magadan in May 2018, Konstantin Petrov, Yevgeniy Zyablov and Sergey Yerkin were placed in a pretrial detention center. On the same day in Khabarovsk, the home of Ivan Puyda was searched. He was arrested and taken 1,600 km to a pretrial detention center in Magadan. The believers spent 2 to 4 months behind bars, and then ended up under house arrest. In March 2019, the FSB conducted another series of searches. The number of defendants in the case has reached 13, including 6 women and elderly. The investigator deemed holding peaceful meetings for worship as organizing, participating in and financing the activity of an extremist organization. In almost 4 years of investigation, the case materials against the 13 believers has grown to 66 volumes. The case went to court in March 2022. At the hearings, it became clear that the case was based on the testimony of a secret witness – an FSB informant who made covert recordings of peaceful meetings for worship. In March 2024, the believers were given suspended sentences ranging from 3 to 7 years, and the court of appeal later upheld this verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Agadzhanov
Sergey
Asatryan
Lyubov
Dergacheva
Galina
Yerkin
Sergey
Kardakova
Inna
Khvostova
Irina
Pechko
Galina
Petrov
Konstantin
Puyda
Ivan
Revyakin
Viktor
Solntsev
Mikhail
Solntseva
Oksana
Zyablov
Yevgeniy

Criminal case

Region:
Magadan Region
Locality:
Magadan
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, conducted together with others religious meetings for worship, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation”
Court case number:
11807440001000013
Initiated:
May 30, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Second Investigative Division of the Third Department for Investigating Especially Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Irkutsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-6/2024 (1-12/2023; 1-220/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Magadan City Court of the Magadan Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Tatyana Belayeva
Case History
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