In the photo: Vladimir Chesnokov, Valery Yakovlev, Vladimir Dutkin, April 2022
An Appeals Court Left Unchanged the Appeal of Three Cheboksary-Based Believers of an Unjust Verdict
ChuvashiaOn August 17, 2022, the Sixth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction did not satisfy the complaint of three residents of Cheboksary against the appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Chuvash Republic and the verdict of the Kalininskiy District Court of the city of Cheboksary.
Vladimir Dutkin, Vladimir Chesnokov and Valeriy Yakovlev received convictions only because they professed the faith of Jehovah's Witnesses. For this, in January 2022, they were fined large sums of money. In April of the same year, the court of appeal approved the verdict, but the believers pleaded not guilty and appealed to the court of cassation.
“The court verdict is an act of direct and indirect religious discrimination, said Vladimir Dutkin in his appeal to the court. — Therefore, I am a victim of discrimination . . . and have been treated in violation of Art. 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation”.