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Unjust Verdicts

Court of Appeal in Tatarstan Upholds the Verdict Against Three Jehovah's Witnesses

November 3, 2023 Tatarstan

On November 1, 2023, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan upheld the sentence of the court of first instance — 2 years suspended for Tatyana Obizhestvit, 2.5 years suspended for Leysan Bochkareva and 3 years and 1 month in a penal colony for Andrey Bochkarev, who has already served this term in full while in pretrial detention.

The prosecutor considered the decision of the court of first instance too lenient and in March 2023 filed an appeal in which he asked the court to "toughen" the sentence for the believers, as well as to exclude mitigating circumstances from the verdict.

In Tatarstan, 13 Jehovah's Witnesses are prosecuted for their faith. One of them, Konstantin Sannikov, is serving his sentence in a penal colony. In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights found prosecutions on such grounds unlawful.

The Case of the Bochkarevs and Obizhestvit in Kazan

Case History

In January 2020, Tatyana Obizhestvit hosted guests at her home. Suddenly, law enforcement officers rushed in and searched her home. Then 15 people were taken for interrogation. Among them were two women over 80 years old and two children. A criminal case was initiated against Tatyana, as well as Andrey and Leysan Bochkarev under an article against extremism only because they believe in Jehovah God. The believers spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility, after which the women were placed under house arrest, and Andrey was placed in a pretrial detention center. In April 2021, the case went to court. Two secret witnesses testified in the case: one posing as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the other claiming that he had been “offered to join the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” In February 2023, Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva received suspended sentences of 2 and 2.5 years, respectively. Andrey Bochkarev was sentenced to 3 years and 1 month in a penal colony, but was released in the courtroom, since he actually served this term in a pretrial detention center. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld this decision.

Timeline