Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Pavel Popov with his wife and daughter outside the building of the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk (May 2023)

Unjust Verdicts

In Chelyabinsk, the Court of Cassation Upheld the Verdict Against Pavel Popov. The Believer Was Declared an Extremist for Giving a Bible Talk

Chelyabinsk Region

On May 31, 2023, the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Chelyabinsk upheld the verdict against Pavel Popov, a Jehovah's Witness from Yemanzhelinsk. The believer will continue to serve his 6-year suspended sentence.

In May 2022, the court found Pavel guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization for participating in a meeting for worship of Jehovah's Witnesses. The court of appeal excluded several pieces of evidence from the case, but the verdict essentially remained the same, so the believer filed a cassation appeal.

Speaking before the judicial chamber of the court of cassation, Popov stated: “I was found guilty... for just one short talk to my friends based on the Bible. That talk did not contain any statements for which one could accuse me of extremism.”

In the Chelyabinsk Region, a total of 13 Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted for their faith. For eight of them, the verdict has already entered into force: the believers received suspended sentences or fines.

The Case of Popov in Chelyabinsk

Case History
The law enforcement officers searched the apartment of Pavel Popov and his wife in the presence of their young daughter twice — in 2019 and 2021. The peaceful believer from Yemanzhelinsk was brought in as a witness in the case of Valentina Suvorova from Chelyabinsk, and in April 2021,Aleksandr Chepenko, investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, initiated a criminal case against him. He considered preaching, singing religious songs and prayers to be organizing the activity of an extremist organization. In November 2021, the case went to court. During the hearings, it became obvious that the testimonies of witnesses for the prosecution were falsified, and the prosecution had no evidence. Despite this, the prosecutor requested the court sentence the believer to 8 years imprisonment. In May 2022, the believer was found guilty and was given a 6-year suspended sentence with a 4-year probation. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Popov
Pavel

Criminal case

Region:
Chelyabinsk Region
Locality:
Chelyabinsk
Suspected of:
"P. N. Popov organized preaching activity... that is, talking with residents of the city of Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk Region" and "religious meetings were organized... consisting of successive performances of songs... prayers to Jehovah God, study and discussion of articles and religious literature" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case)
Court case number:
12102750030000010
Initiated:
April 22, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-77/2022 (1-659/2021)
Court of First Instance:
Metallurgicheskiy District Court of the City of Chelyabinsk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Maria Melnikova
Case History
Back to top