In Birobidzhan Andrey Gubin, One of Jehovah's Witnesses, is Sentenced to 2 Years and 6 Months Probation for Faith in God

On September 9, 2021, the judge of the Birobidzhan District Court, Yuliya Tsykina, sentenced 47-year-old Andrey Gubin to 2 years and 6 months of conditional sentence, 2 years of probation and 1 year of restraint of liberty. The believer immediately appealed against this decision.

The court found Andrey Gubin guilty of participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Although there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor recommended that the court send the believer to a colony for 4 years. Gubin considers the sentence to be canceled. “I am convicted of believing in God,” he wrote in his appeal.

On February 12, 2020, senior forensic investigator Dmitriy Yankin opened a criminal case against Gubin under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation only because of his faith. The believer was placed under recognizance agreement. For more than six months, the investigation of the case was carried out by the FSB of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region. On August 19, 2020, the case materials were transferred to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region.

During the court hearings, Andrey Gubin has repeatedly noted that he considers this persecution to be an ideologically motivated order, which is contrary to common sense. He said: "There is religious discrimination based on someone's personal hostility, prejudice and an illiterate understanding of the law on extremism."

In his appeal to the court, the believer noted: “It is written in my file that there are no victims. I am only persecuted as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Moreover, at this hearing there was a lot of material proving that I and the rest of Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to do with extremism. After all, the language of extremism is the language of enmity and hatred, which contradicts my convictions and the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses in general. "

In his youth, Andrey often faced injustice, which is why he became very hot-tempered. He even wanted to drop out of school. According to the believer, what he learned from the Bible allowed him to change, find peace in his heart and the meaning of life.

In total, 19 criminal cases were initiated against 23 believers in Birobidzhan. In addition to Andrey Gubin, sixteen believers have already been convicted.

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia are condemned because of their faith, despite the official position of the country's leadership, voiced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2021: “During the consideration of the case [in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation], neither the legitimacy of the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, nor the ways of expressing them were assessed. […] Members of a liquidated organization can independently practice a religious cult, including as part of religious groups that do not require registration. "