Photo: Special forces breaking down the door to the apartment of believers (Tomsk, June 3, 2018)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Raids and arrests in Tomsk

Tomsk Region

On the morning of June 3, 2018, a raid was carried out in Tomsk on the basis of religious repression. The interrogations lasted until 2 a.m. Sergey Klimov, 48, was arrested and sent to a temporary detention facility.

On Sunday, at approximately 10:00 a.m., law enforcement officers, including special forces soldiers, invaded a number of houses where believers live. About 30 people were gathered on a bus and taken for interrogation to the Center for Countering Extremism. Among the detainees was an 83-year-old woman. It is known that during the day an ambulance came to the building where the interrogation was carried out several times, one person was hospitalized.

Searches were carried out in homes and private cars. Phones, tablets, computers, Bibles, personal records, photos, money, bank cards were seized. Law enforcement officers refused to hand over the acts of seizure of things and copies of interrogation protocols. One of the detainees was intimidated by being expelled from the university. It is also reported that some of the investigators were clearly slandered. It is known that the case was initiated under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization and participation in the activities of an extremist organization). Russian law enforcement officers mistakenly mistake the joint religion of citizens for participation in an extremist organization.

The arrested Sergey Klimov is in the temporary detention facility for suspects and accused at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Tomsk Region at the address: Tomsk, Elizarov St. 46/4. The issue of choosing a preventive measure for him must be decided no later than June 5, 2018.

Case of Klimov in Tomsk

Case History
Sergey Klimov, a native of the Volgograd region, ended up in a pre-trial detention center after a series of raids on believers in the city of Tomsk. Before detaining Sergey, the special services followed him and his acquaintances for about a year and sent informants to him with recording equipment. Such diligence was justified by law enforcement officers in order to combat a “serious crime,” which turned out to be Sergey’s Christian lifestyle and his conversations about the Bible with other people. In November 2019, the court sentenced Sergey to six years in prison. The verdict was upheld by the regional court in February 2020 and by the court of cassation in January 2022. The believer served his sentence in Astrakhan Penal Colony No. 8. In July 2023, Sergey was released from the colony. He is prohibited from engaging in educational activities and from making publications on the Internet for five years; other restrictions on his freedom will also be in effect for one year.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Tomsk Region
Locality:
Tomsk
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, together with others he conducted religious services, which is interpreted as “organising the activity of an extremist organisation” (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802690013000085
Initiated:
June 3, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Tomsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-417/19
Court of First Instance:
Октябрьский районный суд г. Томска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Дмитрий Борисов
[i18n] Суд апелляционной инстанции:
Томский областной суд
Case History