JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CASE BLOWS UP IN COURT
The state's prosecution side committed mistakes in preparing documents, which prevent studying the materials properly.
by Daniil Liapunov
In the Naberezhnye Chelny city court, the hearing of a case of members of a religious organization that is considered in Russia to be extremist—Jehovah's Witnesses—is continuing. In the defendants' dock are four residents of the motor city: Vladimir Miakhshin, Konstantin Matrashov, Aidar Yulmetiev, and Ilkham Karimov. They are accused of organizing in Chelny a cell of a religious structure that is forbidden in the country, of participating in it, and of financing it.
More than a dozen citizens arrived to support the four defendants. To the question whether they are relatives or friends, one of the group responded: "We are sisters and brothers. Of all of them." With a bashful look on their faces, the defendants themselves occupied a bench in the first row. Along with the documents neatly assembled in the file there appeared also a small black Bible. As it turned out, the small volume was endowed with a special seal: agents had confirmed its "legality."
The latest session ended with a petition by the defense attorney, Dmitry Kolobov. The attorney requested that the case be returned to the prosecutor's office. He said that the documents that appeared in court and those that had been provided to the defendants differ in a most fundamental way. Which violates the rights of the defendants and deprives the court of the possibility of making an objective decision.
"Since the defense is referring directly to the indictment, a review is required," the judge noted, after which he turned to an investigation of the aforementioned documents.
Suddenly the florescent lights in the courtroom flickered and the room was plunged into darkness for several seconds. Whether this was a sign from on high or the consequence of repairs in the building remained unclear. After ascertaining that the audio recording of the proceedings was working, the judge continued. On one of the pages he discovered the defense's indication that each page of the indictment had been signed.
"At the same time, there is no signature of a lawyer on each page of the indictment. How can you explain this matter?"
"I signed each page specifically in order to finalize the materials. The signatures have disappeared. Signed pages were not found in the court. A data disk with photo copies has been provided," Kolobov replied.
A similar situation was discovered regarding documents for all of the defendants.
"It is obvious that the investigation committed a serious official violation. Of course it will be necessary to investigate further how this happened, why it happened, and who forged the documents and misled the court," the representative of the defense declared.
In turn, the prosecution did not consider there was a basis for returning the case. The prosecutor said that there is a document in the case on which the defense signed that it is acquainted with the documents and it has no comments or complaints.
"I consider that it is necessary to deny the petition, since the indictment was composed in accordance with the requirements and there are no violations. As regards the documents presented by the defense, their source is unknown. I request a denial," the state prosecution declared.
"The changes were found only in court," Kolobov replied immediately.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the presiding judge withdrew into the conference room. It took about an hour and a half to reach a decision. At first quietly and then more and more boldly, one of the defendants began to explain (although somebody likely would use the word "preach") his views to the lawyer, illustrating his speech with verses from the Bible. The "brothers and sisters" in the back rows listened attentively and the prosecutor smiled.
"Your law code is interesting," the prosecutor suddenly turned his gaze to the religious book.
"Yes, the highest law code," came the answer.
"I have a different one," the prosecutor continued, pointing to a small red volume of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation.
Several times the bailiff had to ask the audience to quiet down. The citizens had a positive attitude and clearly expected a decision in their favor. Their hopes were justified. The judge ruled that the case must be returned to the prosecutor for removal of the violations that "prevented consideration."
"The investigator must file charges, compose an indictment, and deliver to the defendants proper copies of the indicated procedural documents in proper order and form," the presiding judge declared.
However, this does not change the status of the Chelny citizens as accused. Therefore the measure of their restriction remains in effect—free on their own recognizance. When the case returns for consideration will depend on the quality of the work of law enforcement agencies and the substance of a crime in the actions of the citizens.
The Jehovah's Witnesses are considered in Russia to be an extremist international organization, which was created in 1872 by the American religious leader Charles Russell. According to accounts for 2018, the number of adherents of the denomination exceeded 8.5 million persons (annual growth is 1.4%), living in 240 countries and territories.
To realize the scale of the structure—last year alone, 214 million dollars (about 13.6 billion rubles at current exchange rate, approximately 1.5 times the annual budget of a city the size of Chelny) was allocated for maintenance of "special pioneers, missionaries, and district superintendents."
The teachings of the organization forbid blood transfusion and view negatively fellowship with representatives of any other confessions. They consider their main goals are serving Jehovah and observing the doctrines prescribed in the Bible. (tr. by PDS, posted 28 November 2019)
FOUR BELIEVERS SPENT SIX MONTHS IN SIZO IN TATARSTAN—AND NOW COURT RETURNS THEIR CASE TO PROSECUTOR BECAUSE OF FALSIFICATIONS
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 29 November 2019
On 27 November 2019, the Naberezhnye Chelny city court refused to consider a case against Ilkham Karimov, Konstantin Matrashov, Vladimir Miakushin, and Aidar Yulmetiev. The court pointed to a substantial violation of the law committed in the pre-trial stage and returned the case to the prosecutor of the republic of Tatarstan.
The court called attention to the fact that the investigators handed one text of the indictment to the defendants and presented a different one to the court, with a substantially expanded accusation. In addition, the investigation, and following it, the prosecutor's office classified the action of the believers on the basis of parts 1 and 2 of article 282.2 of the CC RF completely arbitrarily, clearly not understanding what their "crime" actually consisted of.
Despite the bold ruling of the court about remanding the case, the believers remain under their own recognizance. The case against them has not been closed.
A gloomy period in the history of freedom of religious confession in Tatarstan began on 27 May 2018. Law enforcement personnel invaded with searches ten apartments of local residents, who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The searches and interrogations in the homes of peaceful believers began on a Sunday evening and continued deep into the night. Law enforcement identified themselves as agents of the Investigative Committee and the F.S.B. From the believers, among whom were four men, ten women (including elderly ones) and children, were seized all the electronic equipment, cell phones, and foreign passports.
Thirty-seven-year-old Ilkham Karimov, 30-year-old Vladimir Miakushin, 29-year-old Konstantin Matrashov, and 24-year-old Aidar Yulmetiev were arrested and sent to the SIZO for six months. After this each of them spent another two months under house arrest.
Russian law enforcement mistakenly understands joint religious confession of citizens as participation in an extremist organization. This criminal prosecution is a direct consequence of the decision of the Russian Supreme Court, which on 20 April 2017 liquidated and ruled 396 registered religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the country simultaneously to be "extremist." (tr. by PDS, posted 29 November 2019)
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