In the photo from left to right from top to bottom: Sergey and Anastasia Polyakov, Dinara Dyusekeeva, Gaukhar Bektemirova

Criminal trial

The trial of four believers has begun in Omsk. The Polyakovs' spouses, Dinara Dyusekeeva and Gaukhar Bektemirova are in the dock

Omsk Region

On November 12, 2019, a preliminary hearing was held in the Leninsky District Court of Omsk in the case of spouses Sergey and Anastasia Polyakov, as well as Dinara Dyusekeyeva and Gaukhar Bektemirova. These are civilians from Omsk, and the only basis for criminal prosecution is their religion as Jehovah's Witnesses.

The case against the Polyakovs was initiated on June 20, 2018. A few days later, on July 4, searches were carried out in four houses of believers, Sergey and Anastasia were taken away for separate interrogations. During the arrest, Sergey was severely beaten by masked security forces, receiving several blows to the head and face. One of the blows was struck by the knee. Then he himself was forced to wipe his own blood off the floor. Anastasia was insulted during interrogations. After interrogation, Sergey was thrown into a pre-trial detention center, where he spent 154 days. He spent another 91 days under house arrest, and now he is under recognizance not to leave. Later, Dinara Dyusekeyeva and Gaukhar Bektemirova were involved in the Polyakov case.

47-year-old engineer-radiophysicist Sergey Polyakov is charged simultaneously under two articles of the Criminal Code - 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), respectively, the organization of extremist activities and its financing. Three women are charged under the milder article 282.2 (2) - participation in extremist activities.

The hearings are presided over by Judge Ivan Vladimirovich Kargapolov. On November 12, the defendants filed a motion to transfer the case to the Pervomaisky District Court of Omsk in connection with the territory of jurisdiction, it will be considered on November 20.

Case of the Polyakovs and Others in Omsk

Case History
In 2018, the Polyakovs were arrested in Omsk. During the arrest, Sergei was beaten and forced to wipe his blood off the floor. The couple spent five months in solitary confinement and three months under house arrest. In 2019, the Investigative Committee again searched the houses of believers, and Gaukhar Bektemirova and Dinara Dyusekeyeva became defendants in the case. The court considered the case for almost a year. Evidence of guilt was even sought in cartoons seized during the search. In November 2020, Sergey Polyakov was sentenced to three years in a penal colony, and three women were given suspended sentences: Anastasiya Polyakova—two and a half years; Gaukhar Bektemirova—two years and three months; Dinara Dyusekeyeva—two years. In May 2021, the appeal court upheld the verdict, and in June 2022, this verdict was upheld by the cassation court. In November 2022, Sergei Polyakov was released after serving his full term in a penal colony, and in January 2023, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation partially granted Polyakov’s appeal regarding the term of his sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Omsk Region
Locality:
Omsk
Suspected of:
according to the investigation she participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participating in 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:
11802520007000028
Initiated:
June 20, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Azov Inter-district Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Omsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-801/2019
Court:
Первомайский районный суд г. Омска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Денис Першукевич
Case History