RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Another case of vague prosecution of a Jehovah's Witness rejected

COURT IN YAKUTIA RETURNS CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST IGOR IVASHIN TO PROSECUTOR

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 22 November 2019

 

The Lensk district court of the republic of Sakha (Yakutia), with Judge Sergei Osmushin presiding, returned to the prosecutor's office a case that was opened on 29 June 2018 against a local believer. The measure of restriction that was selected for him, in the form of a signed pledge not to depart, remains in force.

 

Igor Ivashin was charged in a criminal case after police raids were conducted in Lensk in the summer of 2018. Investigative activities connected with it had been conducted since back in February 2018, when authorities began audio and video surveillance at his place of residence and his telephone was tapped.

 

Judge Sergei Osmushin concluded that the charge advanced against Igor Ivashin was not specific. He said that in the materials of the case the investigator did not indicate just what constituted the illegal actions of the believer. It was also unclear how "religious singing" and "preaching" were connected with the continuation of the activity of a liquidated religious organization that had never been registered in Lensk. The court also noted that "understanding" what the conclusions of experts that were presented in the criminal case gave evidence of is "just not possible." (tr. by PDS, posted 23 November 2019)


Related article:
Prosecutor botched year and a half old case against Jehovah's Witness
November 15, 2019

Russia Religion News Current News Items

Editorial disclaimer: RRN does not intend to certify the accuracy of information presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the articles as they appeared in news media of countries of the former USSR.

If material is quoted, please give credit to the publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please include reference to the URL, http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.