Court in Votkinsk Gave Local Jehovah's Witnesses Sergey Gobozev and Mikhail Potapov Large Fines

On March 25, 2024, Tamara Makarova, judge of the Votkinsk District Court of the Udmurt Republic, found Mikhail Potapov and Sergey Gobozev guilty of extremist activity and sentenced them to fines.

Sergey Gobozev will have to pay 450,000 rubles for peacefully practicing his faith and Mikhail Potapov — 400,000 rubles. The prosecutor requested imprisonment for 6 years and 6 months for both believers. They do not agree with the verdict and can appeal to higher courts.

The case has been considered in court for 2.5 years – since September 2021.

"Extremism is nothing else than a vivid expression of evil and moral baseness," Mikhail Potapov told the court in his final statement. "So when I read my indictment, which uses the expressions 'violent change of foundations,' 'violation of integrity,' 'undermining security,' 'incitement to hatred,' I got shivers down my spine from these terrible words. It would never have entered my mind ... to commit such acts."

A similar thought was expressed by Sergey Gobozev in his statement: "Throughout my entire life I have never broken any laws. I am a simple pensioner who honestly earned the title 'Veteran of Labor' for my conscientious work for the benefit of the state. And today I am being held responsible for a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state." He adds: "Without evidence the prosecution is trying to tarnish my hard earned, good reputation. There are no victims in the case, and I did not cause any harm to the state. As a believer, extremism in all its manifestations is alien to me."

The case was launched in January 2021, when the homes of Gobozev and Potapov were searched. Sergey was detained in the hospital, where he took his wife for an appointment. The believers were interrogated, after which Potapov was placed in detention, where he spent almost 4 months, and Gobozev was placed under house arrest for the same period. Later, the preventive measure for the believers was replaced with a ban on certain actions.

This is not the only criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Udmurt Republic. Five more believers are awaiting court decisions.