Court in Izhevsk Gave Two Men Long Suspended Sentences for Practicing The Religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses

On October 25, 2024, Oksana Nazarova, judge of the Pervomayskiy District Court of Izhevsk, gave Yevgeniy Stefanidin and Aleksandr Votyakov to 6 and 6.5 years suspended sentences, respectively. The court equated reading the Bible with fellow believers to organizing the activity of an extremist organization.

The prosecutor requested imprisonment in a penal colony for Votyakov, 50, and Stefanidin, 35, followed by 1.5 years restriction of freedom for each. The believers maintain their innocence and can appeal.

The criminal case was initiated against them in December 2022, by Artem Kholmogorov, senior investigator of the Investigative Committee. At that time, searches were conducted in the homes of the families of the believers (it was the second time for the Stefanidins). The investigation lasted about 8 months. The case went to court in August 2023. During the hearings, many witnesses were questioned, including a secret one. They either spoke positively about the defendants or said they hardly knew them. Some witnesses stated that they were pressured and threatened during the preliminary interrogation, so they retracted their statements during the trial and gave new ones in court.

Due to the stress he experienced, Stefanidin's health deteriorated, and in the fall of 2022, he was diagnosed with a disability. In his final statement, Votyakov asked the judge to take into consideration his friend's condition and added, "He is raising a young daughter who loves her father very much and needs his tender care. Do not separate the family because of a ridiculous and baseless accusation." Regarding the accusation against him, he noted, "The 'evidence' gathered against me is that I was and am a Jehovah's Witness... met with fellow believers, discussed the Bible and sang songs of praise to Almighty God Jehovah." Yevgeniy Stefanidin said in his final statement, "The recordings and transcripts show that these were peaceful meetings for worship among friends and close people in a loving friendly atmosphere. There were no extremist statements, not even close."

Three weeks earlier, by the decision of the Supreme Court of Udmurtia, the sentence of three other Jehovah's Witnesses from Izhevsk entered into force. The international community regularly condemns the restriction of freedom of religion in Russia. According to the ECHR, "That broad definition of 'extremism'... prevented individuals or organizations from being able to anticipate that their conduct, however peaceful and devoid of hatred or animosity it was, could be categorised as 'extremist' and censured with restrictive measures." (§ 158)