Yet Another Guilty Verdict in Primorye Territory. Aleksandr Sazhin Given a 3-Year Suspended Sentence for His Faith in Jehovah God

On January 28, 2025, Maksim Ivanishko,judge of the Fokino City Court of the Primorye Territory, issued a decision in the case of Aleksander Sazhin. He gave him a 3-year suspended sentence for reading the Bible with fellow believers, deeming it participating in the activity of an extremist organization.

During the closing arguments, Sazhin emphasized: "I am a Christian. My religious views are based on the Bible. They are expressed in two basic commandments: love God and love people. Therefore, my views are the complete opposite to what is called extremism."

The believer faced criminal prosecution from April 2023. Then investigator A.S. Belashko initiated a case against him under Article 282.2(2) of the RF CrC, and 2 days later Aleksandr's house was searched. He was detained, interrogated in the FSB department, and then released under a recognizance agreement. The investigation lasted a year, after which the trial began in April 2024.

Because of the prosecution, Sazhin had to quit his job; his cards and accounts were blocked. The searches also affected the health of his wife.

The charge against the believer was based mainly on the testimony of a witness, who feigned an interest in the Bible and was in close contact with Sazhin. Since fall 2022, he was secretly recording meetings for worship. According to the defendant, the man's testimony only shows that Sazhin discussed the Bible with him and invited him to several meetings. The indictment states: "There is no information about any victims or the nature and extent of the harm caused... by the crime." Nevertheless, the prosecutor requested 3 years imprisonment for the believer.

In the Primorye Territory, 58 people have already been prosecuted for their faith, 8 of them have been sentenced to a penal colony for terms ranging from 2 to 8 years.