Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In Rostov and Kursk Regions at Least 12 Searches Took Place. Four Believers Were Sent to the Detention Center for Religious Views

Kursk Region,   Rostov Region

On August 8, 2020 at least 12 local believers were searched in the cities of Gukovo, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov-on-Don and Kursk. The next day, 51-year-old Oleg Shidlovsky, 40-year-old Evgeny Razumov, 39-year-old Alexei Gorely and 30-year-old Nikita Moiseyev were sent to the pre-trial detention center.

Update. On August 12, security forces detained 53-year-old Vladimir Popov in the city of Zverevo. According to preliminary information, he was taken to a branch of one of the law enforcement agencies in Rostov-on-Don.

The raids were held as part of a criminal case, which was initiated on August 7 by a senior investigator of the Department of Investigation of particularly important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov region, V.V. Pyatitsky in relation to 6 believers: Nikita Moiseyev, Alexei Gorely, Evgeny Razumov, Alexei Dyadkin, Oleg Shidlovsky and Vladimir Popov. They are suspected of organizing extremist activities (part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). According to the investigation, the believers' fault is that they called meetings of believers, prayed and sang songs to God Jehovah. According to several law enforcement officers during the searches, an FSB agent had been watching believers for a long time.

The day after the initiation of the criminal case the raids began. Most of them took place in the believers of Gukov residents. FSB and Investigative Committee officers invaded civilian homes in the early morning. In one of the cases, law enforcers introduced themselves as workers of the water supply organization. Mobile devices, computer hard drives, flash drives and personal records were seized from believers, as well as from some relatives who do not share their religious views.

As part of this criminal case, searches were also carried out at Alexei Gorely in Rostov-on-Don, at Nikita Moiseyev in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, and at Olga Dyadkina, who lives in Kursk.

As a result, Oleg Shidlovsky, a school physical education teacher, Evgeny Razumov, a driller, Alexey Gorely, an accountant, and Nikita Moiseyev, a construction worker and a household appliance repair foreman, were detained and taken to the Rostov-on-Don temporary detention facility. On August 9th , the Leninsky District Court sent all four of them under arrest for one month 29 days, until October 6th, 2020.

The case of Moiseyev and Others in Gukovo

Case History
In August 2020 the security forces conducted searches in the homes of residents of Gukovo. The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Aleksey Dyadkin, Vladimir Popov, Yevgeniy Razumov, Aleksey Goreliy, Nikita Moiseyev and Oleg Shidlovskiy. These peaceful believers were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. The men’s crime, according to the investigators, is that they “prayed and sang songs to Jehovah God.” Since August 2020 all six have been in pre-trial. As it later became known, an infiltrated FSB agent had been watching the believers for a long time. In November of 2021 the case went to trial. The testimonies of interviewed religious scholars confirmed that these men were tried only for their peaceful religious activities. In September 2022 the court sentenced Goreliy and Shidlovskiy to six-and-a-half years in a general penal colony, while the rest of the believers were sentenced to seven years. In January of 2023 the appeal court approved the verdict, and then six months later the cassational court upheld it.
Timeline

Persons in case

Dyadkin
Aleksey
Goreliy
Aleksey
Moiseyev
Nikita
Popov
Vladimir
Razumov
Yevgeniy
Shidlovskiy
Oleg

Criminal case

Region:
Rostov Region
Locality:
Gukovo
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "they convened meetings of fellow believers, prayed and sang songs to Jehovah God."
Court case number:
12002600001000874
Initiated:
August 7, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for Especially Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Rostov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-20/2022 (1-710/2021)
Court:
Gukovo City Court, Rostov Region
Judge:
Nataliya Batura
Case History
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