RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS



Fallout from Supreme Court ruling still occurring  

ONE MAY PRAY, BUT WITHOUT EXTREMISM

Court overrules verdict for Jehovah's Witness from Pskov oblast

by Mikhail Artiushenko

Kommersant, 29 November 2021

 

The Russian judicial system is continuing to reconsider its attitude toward adherents of the religious teaching of Jehovah's Witnesses. On Friday a court in Pskov oblast cancelled the sentence of Aleksei Khabarov, who had earlier been found guilty of participating in the activity of an extremist organization. We recall that in October the Russian Supreme Court explained: mere participation by Jehovah's Witnesses in religious rituals does not signify extremism. An expert considers that the scale of criminal prosecutions of believers will diminish, but they will not cease altogether.

 

Aleksei Khabarov was arrested during a special operation by the F.S.B. for Pskov in April 2019, while special forces were conducting a raid among local believers. Mr. Khabarov was charged with participating in the activity of an extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of CC RF). We recall that in 2017 the Russian Supreme Court ruled that the organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses" and all of its 395 regional divisions were an extremist organization.

 

According to the account of the investigation, Aleksei Khabarov continued to participate in the activity of the Pskov division after its prohibition. The man spent more than two years under a signed pledge not to leave his place of residence; he was entered into the register of extremists and terrorists by Rosinformmonitoring, which blocked his bank account. He did not admit guilt and in his final speech he thanked the judge, state prosecutors, and even the F.S.B. investigator. "It was from love for God and for people that I engaged in explaining to others about this Kingdom after I became a Jehovah's Witness. Judging by everything, it was because of that that I found myself in the dock." The prosecutor requested 3.5 years in a penal colony for Mr. Khabarov, but in September 2021 the man was sentenced to a suspended sentence of three years in prison, with a probationary period of two years.

 

However on 28 October, the plenum of the Russian Supreme Court issued a "substantive" directive. It clarified that in the event of the ban of an organization, its former members may continue individual or group participation in religious rituals in the capacity of "the exercise of their right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religious confession."

 

In and of themselves, religious practices should not be interpreted as participation in an extremist organization, the Supreme court explained. Courts should first establish which specific socially harmful activities were committed by believers and what were the motives of these activities and their significance for the continuation or revival of the activity of an extremist organization.

 

As a result, on 26 November the Pskov oblast court ruled that the conduct of religious rituals by Mr. Khabarov, even along with other Jehovah's Witnesses, is not considered participation in an extremist community. The court overruled the sentence of Aleksei Khabarov and sent his case for a new consideration in a court with a different judge. Now the man is free on his own recognizance. Kommersant was unable to make contact with him.

 

As Kommersant reported, last week a court in Vladivostok issued for the first time a verdict of acquittal in the case of the Jehovah's Witness Dmitry Barmakin. His right to rehabilitation was recognized. The court also was guided by the explanations of the Supreme Court plenum.

 

Attorney Anastasia Burakova expects the termination of criminal cases for some believers. "Previously group worship services were considered to be extremist activity, but the plenum unambiguously ruled that they are not participation in an extremist community. As for prayer meetings, one should expect the termination of criminal cases, but missionary activity will continue to be prosecuted. If new cases of such a type appear, then there is much more likelihood of appeal to higher courts. It is possible that in the future there will be attempts to ascribe something else to worshippers; for example, dispatching special people, who will subsequently testify that they were enticed into the organization." (tr. by PDS, posted 30 November 2021)

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