Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In Lesosibirsk, a Repeated Search Took Place at the Home of One of Jehovah's Witnesses. A Criminal Case Was Initiated Against Him for His Faith

Krasnoyarsk Territory

On April 11, 2023, the house of one of Jehovah's Witnesses Andrey Shiyan, 53, was searched again in Lesosibirsk. Because of the stress, the believer ended up in the hospital. He is suspected of organizing the activity of an extremist organization for reading the Bible with friends.

Early in the morning, an investigator accompanied by an FSB officer and two attesting witnesses came to Shiyan's home to conduct a search that lasted 4 hours. An ambulance was called twice for the believer. He could not sign any documents, as he was physically not able to do so. The search was carried out on the basis of the ruling of the Lesosibirsk City Court dated February 13, 2023.

The next day, Andrey Shiyan was summoned for interrogation, during which he again became ill, so the ambulance took him to the hospital. There, the investigator handed him several more subpoenas.

Earlier, on November 25, 2021, as part of the criminal case against Valeriy Schitz, Andrey Shiyan had already been searched, during which electronic storage equipment were seized.

Andrey Shiyan became the 30th Jehovah's Witness in the Krasnoyarsk Territory against whom the authorities opened a criminal case for his faith. The persecution of believers in Russia continues despite its condemnation by international and national human rights organizations.

The case of Shiyan and Matveyeva in Lesosibirsk

Case History
In November 2021, FSB and Investigative Committee officers conducted a series of searches in Lesosibirsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory) as part of the criminal case against Valeriy Shitz. The searches affected Andrey Shiyan and Anna Matveeva. In January 2023, separate criminal cases were opened against them. For discussing the Bible with friends, the investigation charged the man with organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and the woman with participating in the activities of a religious association. Subscriptions were taken from believers not to leave. In April 2023, Andrey Shiyan was searched again, during which he had to call an ambulance twice. In October, the criminal cases went to court, where they were later merged into one proceeding. In May 2024, another judge began to consider the case.
Timeline

Persons in case

Shiyan
Andrey
Matveeva
Anna

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Locality:
Lesosibirsk
Suspected of:
"in order to increase the impact on the consciousness of the participants of the online meeting, reproduced, interpreted and commented on religious texts"; "Being in my apartment ... using uninstalled electronic devices... trained adherents in the preaching work of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses by studying and discussing religious literature and other sources" (from the decision to prosecute as an accused)
Court case number:
42302040012000005, 12302040012000006
Initiated:
January 30, 2023
Current case stage:
trial in court of first instance
Investigating:
Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-39/2024 (1-436/2023; 1-490/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Lesosibirsk City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yevgeniy Zadvornyy
Case History
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