Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Believers Were Again Searched in Kazan. Two Men Were Interrogated

Tatarstan

Early in the morning of April 6, 2022, searches were again carried out in Kazan at the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses at at least two addresses. 28-year-old Aleksey Yermakov and 32-year-old Ivan Minin were taken for interrogation to the Center for Combating Extremism (CPE). Aleksey Gerasimov was interrogated there two weeks earlier.

Believers were seized electronic devices, postcards, personal notes and money saved for vacation. During interrogation at the CPE, Minin was offered to incriminate himself, threatened that he would be sent to a pre-trial detention center and subsequently sent to prison for 8 years.

The Case of Gerasimov in Kazan

Case History
Aleksey Gerasimov became yet another victim of religious persecution in Kazan. In March 2022, the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched. Several believers, including Gerasimov, were interrogated. According to investigators, Aleksey continued to meet with fellow believers to discuss the Holy Scriptures, which the authorities considered to be undermining the foundations of the constitutional order of Russia. Regarding this, law enforcement officers initiated a criminal case against the believer, and then accused him of organizing the activity of an extremist organization. In January 2023, the case was submitted to court, and in December, the believer was sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony. Soon after, the court of appeal upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Gerasimov
Aleksey

Criminal case

Region:
Tatarstan
Locality:
Kazan
Suspected of:
"involved individual residents of Kazan" in religious activities, and also "made decisions on the gathering of members and the search for accomplices in ideological propaganda", "gave lectures and showed video recordings promoting the ideas of the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses"
Court case number:
12202920022000012
Initiated:
February 10, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Tatarstan
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-131/2023
Court of First Instance:
Kirovskiy District Court of the City of Kazan
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Anna Kryuchenkova
Case History
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