Six Years Suspended Sentence for Faith in Jehovah God. A Court in Kemerovo Found Vladimir Baykalov Guilty of Extremism

The court gave Vladimir Baikalov, 60, a 6-year suspended sentence for talking about the Bible with friends. This decision was made on October 23, 2023, by the judge of the Zavodsky District Court of the city of Kemerovo, Marina Romanina. The state prosecutor asked to send the believer to a penal colony for 7 years.

"I used to teach people how to beat, and now I teach them to love," said former boxing coach Vladimir Baykalov, emphasizing the absurdity of the accusation. "[Before becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses], I devoted many years to boxing, even though it was not only my favorite job, but also my life's work . . . The Bible taught me to show love to people instead of aggression, and instead of inflicting pain, it [nurtured] a desire and willingness to help. This is the exact opposite of extremism, hatred or enmity."

Investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Aleksandra Isayeva opened a criminal case in February 2022. A day later, Baykalov's home was searched. The security forces equated peaceful conversations about God with organizing the activities of an extremist organization. At the same time, there are no facts of extremist calls or statements on the part of Vladimir in the case. According to witnesses who spoke in court, they also did not hear anything like this from Baykalov. At least one of them stated that the protocol of his interrogation was falsified. The believer drew the court's attention to the comments of the operatives themselves to the transcripts of the audio recordings of the liturgical meetings: "Conversations of operational interest have not been recorded." The audio recordings show believers discussing the importance of following biblical standards and displaying qualities such as modesty and humility.

Even before the trial, Vladimir Baykalov was twice subjected to a psychiatric examination. During one of them, the doctor who cooperated with the investigation, according to the believer, exerted strong psychological pressure on him and intimidated him with forced hospitalization, trying to force Baykalov to incriminate himself.

To cope with all the difficulties, as Vladimir said, he and his wife were helped by friends. "You just can't do without their help in these difficult times. They shared encouraging thoughts and provided tremendous support at court hearings. Once the prosecutor said: "There are so many listeners, but who are they to you?" I replied: "These are relatives and friends." He was surprised. Also, immediately after the search, fellow believers helped financially."

The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

In Kuzbass, 15 cases were initiated against Jehovah's Witnesses. The sentences of 11 believers have already entered into force. Two of them, Sergey Ananin and Andrey Vlasov, are serving long sentences in a penal colony.