ANOTHER
CRIMINAL
CASE FOR FAITH IN PERM. ALEKSEI METSGER INDICTED
Jehovah's
Witnesses
in Russia, 29 August 2019
On 22
August 2019, a
43-year-old resident of Perm, Aleksei Metsger, was officially
charged as a
defendant for allegedly participating in extremist activity. He
gave a signed
promise not to depart from his place of residence. The believer
faces up to six
years incarceration merely for professing his religion.
Despite
the absence
of victims, law enforcement agencies are convinced that the
actions of Metsger
constitute a serious crime. An investigator of especially
serious cases, E.
Leontiev, has opened a criminal case against another peaceful
believer based on
part 2 of article 282.2 of the CC RF (participation in activity
of an extremist
organization). The defendant has already begun acquainting
himself with the
materials of the case. Then it will be sent to court.
Aleksei
Metsger now
becomes the fifth resident of Perm territory against whom a
criminal case has
been opened because of professing the religion of Jehovah's
Witnesses. His case
was separated out from the case of Alexander Soloviev, who has
already been
convicted on a similar article. On 4 July 2019, he was sentenced
to a fine of
300,000 rubles. Another three residents of Perm te4rritory are
now under
investigation: Boris Burylov, Viktor Kuchkov, and Igor Turik.
These
criminal cases
are a direct consequence of the decision of the Russian Supreme
Court
liquidating and banning the activity of all organizations of
Jehovah's
Witnesses in Russia. Law enforcers incorrectly interpret joint
confession of
religion as participation in extremist activity, violating
article 28 of the
constitution of the RF, which guarantees freedom of religious
confession for
all persons. (tr. by PDS, posted 29 August 2019)
Background articles:
Third criminal conviction of Jehovah's
Witness this year
July 4, 2019
Prosecutor claims Jehovah's Witnesses'
crime is severe
September 19, 2018
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