9 April 2020
Source: Memorial Human Rights Centre
More than 330 Jehovah’s Witnesses have now been subject to prosecution.
Memorial Human Rights Centre has recognised 24 Jehovah’s Witnesses as political prisoners, of whom 15 have been remanded in custody and nine are under house arrest.
We have found a further 106 Jehovah’s Witnesses to be victims of politically-motivated criminal prosecutions on whom pre-trial restrictive measures have been imposed that fall short of derivation of liberty (for a list of names, see below).
The majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been charged with organising the activities of an extremist organisation (Article 282.2, Section 1, of the Russian Criminal Code), participation in the same (Article 282.2, Section 2) or recruitment into the organisation (Article 282.2, Section 1.1). A number have also been charged with financing extremist activities (Article 282.3, Section 1).
Total figures
Altogether our list contains the names of 49 Jehovah’s Witnesses who are political prisoners and have been deprived of their liberty on charges related to their religious belief. Thirty-two of them have been remanded in custody, 17 are under house arrest. A further two hundred and eighty believers are being prosecuted without having been deprived of their liberty.
Nine Jehovah’s Witnesses have already been sentenced to terms in prison of up to six years. Six have been given suspended sentences. Ten have been given non-custodial sentences or penalties that were quashed because of the decriminalisation of certain articles of the Criminal Code.
A total of 339 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been prosecuted since the full-scale campaign against this group of believers began in August 2017. The number continues to grow .
A list of those prosecuted on charges of belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ faith is available on our website and is regularly updated.
We consider that the designation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ organisations as extremist is unjustifiable and violates the rights to freedom of conscience and association, while the criminal prosecution of members of this peaceful faith is unlawful and discriminatory.
We demand that those Jehovah’s Witnesses held in custody and under house arrest be immediately released, and that charges be dropped against all Jehovah’s Witnesses.
[Translator’s note: in the lists below of transliterated names, the original Russian order of names has been maintained, in accordance with their original numbering.]
15 new defendants remanded in custody:
1. Andreev, Andrei Leonidovich
2. Bagratyan, Alevtina Mikhailovna
3. Bagratyan, Artem Babkenovich
4. Bachurin, Viktor Nikolaevich
5. Bochkarev, Andrei Nikolaevich
6. Zhinzhikov, Eduard Vladimirovich
7. Kostrov, Aleksandr Veniaminovich
8. Krutyakov, Yury Alekseevich
9. Kuzichkin, Nikolai Nikolaevich
10. Netreba, Artur Vyacheslavovich
11. Polyakevich, Gennady Iosifovich
12. Popov, Vyacheslav Alekseevich
13. Ryshkov, Andrei Vladimirovich
14. Stepanov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich
15. Khokhlov, Vladimir Aleksandrovich
Nine new instances of believers placed under house arrest:
- Batchaev, Albert Salikhovich
- Bochkareva, Leisan Raushanovna
- Zherebtsov, Konstantin Petrovich
- Zimovsky, Viktor Vladimirovich
- Krutyakova, Zinaida Valentinovna
- Nikiforov, Vitaly Sergeevich
- Obizhestvit, Tatyana Vitalievna
- Pegasheva, Ekaterina Gennadievna
- Skutelets, Gennady Viktorovich
106 Jehovah’s Witnesses placed under pre-trial restrictions not related to deprivation of liberty:
- Anoikina, Nadezhda Anatolievna
- Akhrameeva, Evgeniya Nikolaevna
- Antonov, Denis Nikolaevich
- Arkhipov, Aleksei Albertovich
- Artamonova, Larisa Aleksandrovna
- Baranov, Yury Vladimirovich
- Barmakina, Elena Mikhailovna
- Bektemirova, Gaukhar Magauinovna
- Belyaev, Eduard Nikolaevich
- Boiko, Anatoly Afanasievich
- Boiko, Vladimir Grigorievich
- Bukin, Vladimir Valerievich
- Burkov, Mikhail Ivanovich
- Vaag, Yury Vladimirovich
- Vasiliev, Vladimir Petrovich
- Vashchenko, Rimma Mikhailovna
- Vinogradov, Dmitry Yurievich
- Galaktionova, Liubov Aleksandrovna
- Ganusha, Olga Aleksandrovna
- Gezik, Anatoly Petrovich
- Gezik, Irina Nikolaevna
- Geraskov, Yury Mikhailovich
- Gild, Pavel Aleksandrovich
- Gordeev, Mikhail Genrikhovich
- Grigorenko, Vladislav Borisovich
- Gubin, Andrei Petrovich
- Guzev, Konstantin Viktorovich
- Guzeva, Anastasiya Vladimirovna
- Diusekeeva, Dinara Khairollaevna
- Egorov, Evgeny Viktorovich
- Elin, Evgeny Vladimirovich
- Ermilov, Sergei Nikolaevich
- Ermolaev, Vladimir Vladimirovich
- Zhukov, Igor Vladimirovich
- Zagulina, Tatyana Yurievna
- Ivanov, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich
- Ilinykh, Vitaly Vladimirovich
- Inozemtsev, Aleksandr Valerievich
- Kabanov, Aleksandr Alekseevich
- Kaganovich, Iuliya Fedorovna
- Karimzhanov, Amirkhan Zhumataevich
- Kiriliuk, Sergei Nikolaevich
- Kogai, Nailya Sunatovna
- Kozlitin, Aleksandr Alekseevich
- Konkova, Nadezhda Nikolaevna
- Koniukhov, Sergei Vladimirovich
- Korolev, Aleksandr Evgenievich
- Korolchuk, Sergei Stanislavovich
- Kriger, Natalya Romanovna
- Kuznetsov, Sergei Petrovich
- Kulakov, Dmitry Sergeevich
- Kutsenko, Vadim Aleksandrovich
- Leontiev, Mikhail Olegovich
- Lokhvitskaya, Anna Aleksandrovna
- Lokhvitskaya, Irina Yurievna
- Lokhvitsky, Artur Sergeevich
- Mamalimov, Igor Rafitovich
- Mamalimov, Pavel Rafitovich
- Makhalichev, Nikolai Andreevich
- Makhmadagaeva, Valentina Aleksandrovna
- Medvedeva, Olga Alekseevna
- Monis, Svetlana Yakovlevna
- Nikulin, Georgy Nikolaevich
- Nikulina, Elena Anatolievna
- Olshevsky, Anton Yurievich
- Omelchenko, Vitaly Nikolaevich
- Parkova, Galina Vasilievna
- Parfentiev, Georgy Konstantinovich
- Parfentieva, Tatyana Ivanovna
- Petrenko, Valery Grigorievich
- Petrushin, Eduard Mikhailovich
- Polozov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
- Ponomarenko, Liudmila Ivanovna
- Postnikov, Oleg Vladimirovich
- Purge, Nina Ivanovna
- Putintsev, Aleksandr Nikolaevich
- Ravnushkin, Dmitry Vasilievich
- Reznichenko, Vasily Pavlovich
- Reino-Chernyshova, Elena Allanovna
- Rubtsov, Valery Arkadievich
- Ryzhkova, Svetlana Anatolievna
- Saakyan, Karina Samvelovna
- Sagin, Viktor Petrovich
- Sandu, Olga Timofeevna
- Svetonosov, Sergei Aleksandrovich
- Semeniuk, Sergei Yurievich
- Slashchev, Valery Vladimirovich
- Slobodeniuk, Vitaly Ivanovich
- Slobodenyuk, Evgeniya Nikolaevna
- Soldatova, Zinaida Viktorovna
- Stepkina, Valentina Ivanovna
- Suvorova, Valentina Anatolievna
- Sycheva, Anastasiya Nikolaevna
- Terebilov, Dmitry Sergeevich
- Tishchenko, Dmitry Vladimirovich
- Tolstonozhenko, Sergei Anatolievich
- Usanova, Raisa Mikhailovna
- Feruleva, Tatyana Georgievna
- Khabarov, Petr Vladimirovich
- Tsarev, Igor Olegovich
- Chermnykh, Anton Evgenievich
- Shangareev, Fail Samigullovich
- Shvalev, Sergei Stepanovich
- Sholner, Tatyana Vladimirovna
- Shut, Liudmila Aleksandrovna
- Iuferov, Sergei Vitalievich
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner, or of a prosecution as politically motivated, does not imply that Memorial Human Rights Centre shares or approves the individual’s views, statements or actions.
You can support all political prisoners by donating to the Fund to Support Political Prisoners of the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners via PayPal, using the e-wallet at helppoliticalprisoners@gmail.com
Republished by kind permission of Memorial Human Rights Centre
