In Arkhangelsk, the court arrested the cars of a family of believers

On February 28, 2019, a judge of the Lomonosov District Court of Arkhangelsk arrested two cars of the Yakku family, registered to the head of the family, Yevgeny. He is accused of allegedly continuing the activities of the Local Religious Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Central, Arkhangelsk". At the same time, Eugene Yakku has never been a member of this organization; Moreover, this organization was disbanded on the initiative of believers and has never been recognized as "extremist" by any court.

Only the judge and the prosecutor participated in the court session at which the decision to seize property was made. Neither Yevgeny Yakku nor his lawyer, as follows from the case materials, were invited to the meeting.

The arrest of the Opel Astra and Chevrolet Spark cars was requested by the investigator who is in charge of the Yakku case. According to the investigator, the cars had to be arrested in order to ensure the execution of a possible sentence, implying a fine in the amount of a 3-year salary or up to 700 thousand rubles.

The prosecutor supported the investigator's opinion, and the judge granted the petition, referring to Article 115 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Russia. This article of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that when deciding on the seizure of property, the court must indicate the specific, factual circumstances on the basis of which it made such a decision. The court simply repeated what was said in the investigator's petition, from which it is clear that Eugene Yakku is accused only of professing and spreading his faith.

Eugen Yakku considered the court's decision unjust and appealed it to a higher court.