Court of Appeal in Barnaul Sentenced Pavel Kazadaev to Penal Colony for 3 Years

On August 18, 2023, the Altai Territory Court granted the prosecutor's appeal against the verdict against Pavel Kazadaev, replacing the 3-year suspended sentence with 3 years in a penal colony for talking about the Bible. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom. He has pleaded not guilty and can appeal the verdict.

Before the appeal ruling was issued, Pavel said: “I did not continue the activity of a banned organization. I wanted and still want to peacefully practice my faith together with friends, worship God, praise him, and learn his commandments and principles. If I stop doing this, then, in fact, I stop believing. I did not have extremist motives; I do not feel hatred or enmity towards other people, including people of other religions, therefore, my actions could not harm them. There are no victims in my case, and all my friends and relatives described me favorably.”

Pavel Kazadaev, 26, is the youngest Jehovah's Witness prosecuted in the Altai Territory. The European Court of Human Rights clearly stated in its decision: “The forced liquidation of all religious organisations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia... indicates a policy of intolerance by the Russian authorities towards the religious practices of Jehovah's Witnesses designed to cause them to abandon their faith and to prevent others from joining it."