The Appeal in Kemerovo Upheld the Verdict Against Yuriy Chernykh. As One of Jehovah's Witnesses He Was Sentenced to Forced Labor

On November 28, 2023, a panel of judges of the Kemerovo Regional Court, chaired by Yelena Fedusova, upheld the verdict against Yuriy Chernykh from the city of Prokopyevsk. The believer will have to serve a sentence of 3 years of forced labor.

This punishment was imposed on the father of a minor child in September 2023 by the judge of the first instance court, Alyona Novoselova. The believer did not agree with the verdict and appealed it in a higher court. In his appeal, he stated: "All my actions were completely peaceful. The prosecution did not allege that I incited violence or religious hatred and enmity. I did not do anything that would indicate the continuation of the activities of any extremist organization. On the basis of Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, my fellow believers and I had every right to meet to discuss the Bible and communicate, which in no way depends on the existence of any religious organization."

The believer has the right to appeal the court's decision in cassation.

Chernykh has been defending the right to practice his religion for more than two years. Prior to that, Yuriy was a witness in the case of his fellow believer Andrey Vlasov, a disabled person of group II, who is serving his sentence in a colony. Yuriy's wife Yelena was also prosecuted, her case is now being considered by the court of first instance.

According to a the statement of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 23, 2018, "the decision of the Supreme Court ... and the appellate ruling of the Appellate Board... do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually." Despite this, more and more believers are being prosecuted for private religious practice. Often, as in the case of Yuriy and Yelena Chernykh, if one of the family members, Jehovah’s Witnesses, is accused in extremism first, the other family members are under the threat then.