In Kaluga, the Court of Appeal found violations and discrimination in the case of Dmitry Kuzin. It will be considered by the new composition of the court

On September 9, 2019, the Kaluga Regional Court granted Dmitry Kuzin's complaint against the measure of restraint and overturned the decision of the court of previous instance due to gross violations and biased attitude of the judge. The case was sent for review with a change of judge, and the believer can leave the pre-trial detention center in four days.

On June 26, 2019, a criminal case was opened against Dmitry Kuzin, a resident of Kaluga, under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organizing the activities of an extremist organization) in connection with his religion as a Jehovah's Witness. He was taken into custody. On August 19, the investigator applied to the Kaluga District Court with a request to extend the period of Kuzin's detention for another two months. On August 26, the district court granted this request, and the accused appealed his decision to the regional court.

Judge of the Kaluga Regional Court Svetlana Anatolyevna Prokofyeva, having considered this appeal on September 9, decided to cancel the decision of the district court of August 26, to reduce the period of Kuzin's stay in custody until September 23, and to transfer the petition of the senior investigator of the Investigation Department of the FSB of Russia for the Kaluga Region to extend the period of detention for a new trial in the same court, but with a different composition.

Although the believer remained in custody, albeit with a reduced sentence, an important outcome of the appeal was the recognition of "significant violations of the criminal procedure law," according to the text of the ruling. Thus, Judge Prokofieva drew attention to the fact that the lower court did not allow the believer to defend himself, referring to his religious beliefs, and in fact mocked him.

Having studied the audio recording of the court session, the judge of the regional court pointed to the phrase of the lower court judge addressed to Kuzin: "You are not a prisoner of conscience and have nothing to do with the first Christians, there is no need to speculate on this, you are not called to gladiatorial fights. And as a follower of Jehovah, you also raise many questions." Judge Prokofieva noted in her conclusion: "With such data, it is impossible to talk about the objectivity of the presiding judge." She concluded that this indicates the interest of the presiding judge in the outcome of the case and the illegality of the composition of the court.

As a result, the petition to extend Kuzin's detention will have to be considered by the new composition of the Kaluga District Court. The believer is glad that, at least in some cases, bias against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian courts receives a proper legal assessment.