Search of Jehovah's Witnesses (archival photo)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Searches and a Criminal Case for Faith in the Sverdlovsk Region

Sverdlovsk Region

Early in the morning of April 16, 2019, in Karpinsk (Sverdlovsk region), 6 law enforcement officers came to the house of Alexander and Anastasia Pryanikov with a search. A search was conducted in the apartment and car. Alexander is suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In the hands of law enforcement officers was a warrant to search the car of the Pryanikovs, issued by Captain of Justice Vladimir Sudin from the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the city of Krasnoturyinsk. The investigator expected to find religious literature in the car, but seized only electronic devices, and not from the car, but from the apartment.

A criminal case under the article "participation in the activities of an extremist organization" (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against Alexander Pryanikov, as well as a local resident Venera Dulova, was initiated on July 30, 2018. After 2 days, 3 searches were carried out: in the apartment of Venera Dulova, at the dacha of her relatives and in the apartment of the Pryanikovs during their departure. During the interrogation, Venera Dulova, as well as her 18-year-old daughter, were pressured and intimidated with long prison terms. The girl was asked if her parents read religious literature. On the same day, Venera Dulova signed a recognizance not to leave.

Upon returning home, in August 2018, Alexander Pryanikov came to the investigator and was interrogated as a suspect. In September, he was released on his own recognizance.

It is known that the written materials seized from believers in 2018 were sent for examination to the Department of Theology of the Ural Mining University.

Case of Prianikov and Others in Karpinsk

Case History
In June 2018, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov were detained for talking about the Bible. A criminal case was opened against them under an extremist article. A year later, Daria Dulova became the third defendant in the case. In January 2020, they were sentenced to suspended sentences ranging from 1 year to 2.5 years. An appeal in Yekaterinburg overturned the verdict and returned the case to the court of first instance. This time, the prosecutor requested a more severe punishment, but the court duplicated the first verdict. In March 2022, the appellate court again overturned the verdict, acquitting the believers. The cassation court did not change this decision. However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned it in March 2023 and returned the case to the appeal stage, which returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, after which the cassation sent it for a new appeal hearing. A fourth appellate decision upheld the convictions of Aleksandr and Venera. Daria is exempt from criminal liability, as the statute of limitations has expired. All three believers are defendants in another criminal case for their faith.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Sverdlovsk Region
Locality:
Karpinsk
Suspected of:
"Within the jurisdiction of the city of Karpinsk... together with a group of people, being fully aware that the religious organization Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was declared extremist and its activities in the Russian Federation were prohibited, [he] participated in its activities by directly taking part in events, carrying out propaganda of its activities, familiarizing with religious literature."
Court case number:
11802650042000038
Initiated:
July 30, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
СО в г. Краснотурьинске СУ Следственного комитета РФ по Свердловской области
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-11/2021 (1-184/2020; 1-5/2020; 1-167/2019)
Court:
Карпинский городской суд Свердловской области
Case History