Photo: raid on believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region (July 2019)

Photo: raid on believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region (July 2019)

Photo: raid on believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region (July 2019)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Mass operation against believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region

Nizhegorod Region

On the evening of July 16 and the morning of July 17, 2019, about 10 searches were carried out in the homes of believers in Nizhny Novgorod and the city of Pavlovo (Nizhny Novgorod region), and equipment was seized. In at least one case, security forces forced civilians to lie on the floor. Men and women have been detained, and interrogations are underway.

The last time Nizhny Novgorod security officials put pressure on those who hold the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses was more than two years ago, even before the Supreme Court's decision to ban 396 organizations of believers came into force. Then the special services disrupted the worship service and planted a brochure included in the list of extremist materials.

Update. In total, searches were carried out in 31 families of Nizhny Novgorod believers. 5 criminal cases were initiated against 7 men and 2 women. Persecution of faith is carried out by employees of the Nizhny Novgorod regional police department together with employees of the regional department of the FSB. Force support was provided by the SOBR of the regional department of the Russian Guard.

Case of Abrosimova and Others in Nizhny Novgorod

Case History
In July 2019, Nizhny Novgorod security forces came with searches to 35 homes of peaceful believers, and several criminal cases were initiated. One of them is against the widow Galina Abrosimova and two other believers (their case is separated into separate proceedings). As it turned out later, local Jehovah’s Witnesses were under covert video surveillance, their telephone conversations were tapped. Oleg Makerov, an investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod region, accused Galina of organizing the activities of an extremist organization because of her religion. The believer spent 2 days in the temporary detention facility, after which they took a written undertaking not to leave her place. In September 2021, the criminal case went to court. The prosecutor requested that Abrosimova be sentenced to 7 years in prison. In May 2022, the court sentenced her to 6 years probation, and in August of the same year, the appeal upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Abrosimova
Galina

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Nizhny Novgorod
Suspected of:
According to the investigation they held meetings, collected donations for the needs of the religious organization, improved the skills of missionary activities implementation
Court case number:
11901220089000239
Initiated:
June 4, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Department of Internal Affairs of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the MIA of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-41/2022 (1-419/2021)
Court:
Sovetskiy District court of the City of Nizhny Novgorod
Judge:
Ivan Karnavskiy
Case History

Case of Vavilov and Oreshkov in Pavlovo

Case History
In July 2019, mass searches and detentions of Jehovah’s Witnesses took place in Nizhny Novgorod and the city of Pavlovo. The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region initiated a criminal case on the suspicion that unidentified persons were participating in extremist activity — this is how the investigation classified the worship of believers. The security forces detained Aleksey Oreshkov and Aleksandr Vavilov and placed them in pretrial detention for 211 and 241 days, respectively. Later, the FSB added Aleksandr Rakovskiy to the same case as a defendant. In January 2021, the case went to court. Despite fabricated testimonies in the case and the fact that there were no victims, in October 2021 the court imposed a 3-year suspended sentence on the peaceful believers. In January 2022, the regional court, and in December the cassation court, left this sentence unchanged.
Timeline

Persons in case

Oreshkov
Aleksey
Rakovskiy
Aleksandr
Vavilov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Pavlovo
Suspected of:
"Realizing a joint criminal intent, acting intentionally, by a group of persons by prior conspiracy . . . took active steps aimed at . . . conducting religious speeches and services”
Court case number:
11907220001000025
Initiated:
July 16, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-49/2021
Court of First Instance:
Pavlovskiy District Court of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Dmitriy Pestov
Case History

The case of Yevstigneev in Nizhny Novgorod

Case History
Kirill Yevstigneev is one of the Nizhny Novgorod believers who were searched by armed security forces in July 2019. A year later, he became a defendant in a criminal case on financing the activities of an extremist organization due to the fact that he entered into a lease agreement for a room for a friendly meeting with fellow believers. A secret video and audio recording was made for the believer. Later, investigator Makerov took a written undertaking not to leave Yevstigneev. In addition, Kirill Evstigneev was included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. His bank accounts were blocked. At the end of September 2021, the believer’s case was submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod, and in May 2022, Judge Viktor Ushakov sentenced the believer to 3 years of suspended sentence. The appellate court upheld the verdict on August 1, 2022.
Timeline

Persons in case

Yevstigneev
Kirill

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Nizhny Novgorod
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "I entered into a lease agreement for non-residential premises ... and made payment under this agreement in the amount of 7500 rubles.
Court case number:
12001220089000380
Initiated:
September 2, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Directorate of Internal Affairs of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the MIA of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-53/2022 (1-519/2021)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Nizhny Novgorod
Judge:
Viktor Ushakov
Case History

Case of Zavrazhnov in Nizhniy Novgorod

Case History
In July 2019, the Russian Interior Ministry for the Nizhny Novgorod Region conducted searches in a total of 35 homes of local Jehovah’s Witnesses. Several criminal cases were initiated, one of them against Maksim Zavrazhnov, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod. The believer was accused of “conducting meetings, collecting donations for the needs of a religious organization and improving the skills of missionary activity.” For seven months, Zavrazhnov was under a ban on certain actions, and in February 2020 he was placed under a recognizance agreement. In October 2021, the case was submitted to the district court. During the hearings, some witnesses stated that the protocols they signed contained information that they did not disclose. The prosecutor requested 5 years in a penal colony for the believer, but the court gave him a 6 year suspended sentence. In December 2022, an appeal upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Zavrazhnov
Maksim

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Nizhniy Novgorod
Suspected of:
According to the investigation they held meetings, collected donations for the needs of a religious organization, improved the skills of missionary work
Court case number:
11901220089000241
Initiated:
July 17, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Department of Internal Affairs of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the MIA of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-47/2022 (1-455/2021)
Court of First Instance:
Moskovskiy District Court of the City of Nizhny Novgorod
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Azamat Ionov
Case History

The case of Malyanov and others in Nizhny Novgorod

Case History
In July 2019, mass searches were carried out in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Nizhny Novgorod. After that, several believers became defendants in criminal cases under an article for extremism. One of them was filed against Sergey Konshin, Sergey Malyanov and his daughter, Svetlana. The believers spent 24 hours in a temporary holding facility. Even before these events, the officers were listening in on Malyanov’s telephone conversations. Later, another defendant appeared in the case - Roman Zhivolupov. The believers were added to the Rosfinmonitoring list and they had to sign a recognizance agreement. In February 2022, the case went to court. The charges are based on a video recording of an event. The investigation considered the party a continuation of the activity of a liquidated religious organization. In April 2023, these Nizhny Novgorod residents were sentenced to fines ranging from 450,000 to 700,000 rubles. Later, the court of appeal upheld the guilty verdict, toughening the additional part of the punishment – not to hold any leading positions in religious and public organizations for 2 years and 11 months.
Timeline

Persons in case

Konshin
Oleg
Malyanov
Sergey
Malyanova
Svetlana
Zhivolupov
Roman

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Nizhny Novgorod
Suspected of:
According to the investigation they held meetings, collected donations for the needs of a religious organization, improved the skills of missionary work
Court case number:
11901220089000240
Initiated:
July 17, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Department of Internal Affairs of the Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the MIA of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-3/2023
Court of First Instance:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Nizhny Novgorod
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Sergey Glushkov
Case History

Manushakyan's case in Nizhny Novgorod

Case History
In June 2019, Oleg Makerov, investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affair of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, initiated a criminal case under an article for extremism. One of the defendants was Vladimir Manushakyan. A month later, the homes of 31 families in Nizhny Novgorod were searched. Manushakyan was interrogated, he spent the night in the detention center, after which he was released under a ban on certain actions. Later, the believer was added to the Rosfinmonitoring list of extremists. In November 2021, the case against Vladimir was made into a separate proceeding. On December 13, 2022, Vladimir passed away.
Timeline

Persons in case

Manushakyan
Vladimir

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Nizhny Novgorod
Suspected of:
According to investigators, he held meetings, improved his skills in carrying out missionary activities
Court case number:
42101220089000650
Initiated:
June 4, 2019
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
Investigative Unit of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Main Directorate of the MIA of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Case History
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