Memorial Human Rights Centre: A further 130 Jehovah’s Witnesses are victims of politically-motivated prosecutions

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:

  1. Batchaev, Albert Salikhovich
  2. Bochkareva, Leisan Raushanovna
  3. Zherebtsov, Konstantin Petrovich
  4. Zimovsky, Viktor Vladimirovich
  5. Krutyakova, Zinaida Valentinovna
  6. Nikiforov, Vitaly Sergeevich
  7. Obizhestvit, Tatyana Vitalievna
  8. Pegasheva, Ekaterina Gennadievna
  9. Skutelets, Gennady Viktorovich

106 Jehovah’s Witnesses placed under pre-trial restrictions not related to deprivation of liberty:

  1. Anoikina, Nadezhda Anatolievna
  2. Akhrameeva, Evgeniya Nikolaevna
  3. Antonov, Denis Nikolaevich
  4. Arkhipov, Aleksei Albertovich
  5. Artamonova, Larisa Aleksandrovna
  6. Baranov, Yury Vladimirovich
  7. Barmakina, Elena Mikhailovna
  8. Bektemirova, Gaukhar Magauinovna
  9. Belyaev, Eduard Nikolaevich
  10. Boiko, Anatoly Afanasievich
  11. Boiko, Vladimir Grigorievich
  12. Bukin, Vladimir Valerievich
  13. Burkov, Mikhail Ivanovich
  14. Vaag, Yury Vladimirovich
  15. Vasiliev, Vladimir Petrovich
  16. Vashchenko, Rimma Mikhailovna
  17. Vinogradov, Dmitry Yurievich
  18. Galaktionova, Liubov Aleksandrovna
  19. Ganusha, Olga Aleksandrovna
  20. Gezik, Anatoly Petrovich
  21. Gezik, Irina Nikolaevna
  22. Geraskov, Yury Mikhailovich
  23. Gild, Pavel Aleksandrovich
  24. Gordeev, Mikhail Genrikhovich
  25. Grigorenko, Vladislav Borisovich
  26. Gubin, Andrei Petrovich
  27. Guzev, Konstantin Viktorovich
  28. Guzeva, Anastasiya Vladimirovna
  29. Diusekeeva, Dinara Khairollaevna
  30. Egorov, Evgeny Viktorovich
  31. Elin, Evgeny Vladimirovich
  32. Ermilov, Sergei Nikolaevich
  33. Ermolaev, Vladimir Vladimirovich
  34. Zhukov, Igor Vladimirovich
  35. Zagulina, Tatyana Yurievna
  36. Ivanov, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich
  37. Ilinykh, Vitaly Vladimirovich
  38. Inozemtsev, Aleksandr Valerievich
  39. Kabanov, Aleksandr Alekseevich
  40. Kaganovich, Iuliya Fedorovna
  41. Karimzhanov, Amirkhan Zhumataevich
  42. Kiriliuk, Sergei Nikolaevich
  43. Kogai, Nailya Sunatovna
  44. Kozlitin, Aleksandr Alekseevich
  45. Konkova, Nadezhda Nikolaevna
  46. ​​Koniukhov, Sergei Vladimirovich
  47. Korolev, Aleksandr Evgenievich
  48. Korolchuk, Sergei Stanislavovich
  49. Kriger, Natalya Romanovna
  50. Kuznetsov, Sergei Petrovich
  51. Kulakov, Dmitry Sergeevich
  52. Kutsenko, Vadim Aleksandrovich
  53. Leontiev, Mikhail Olegovich
  54. Lokhvitskaya, Anna Aleksandrovna
  55. Lokhvitskaya, Irina Yurievna
  56. Lokhvitsky, Artur Sergeevich
  57. Mamalimov, Igor Rafitovich
  58. Mamalimov, Pavel Rafitovich
  59. Makhalichev, Nikolai Andreevich
  60. Makhmadagaeva, Valentina Aleksandrovna
  61. Medvedeva, Olga Alekseevna
  62. Monis, Svetlana Yakovlevna
  63. Nikulin, Georgy Nikolaevich
  64. Nikulina, Elena Anatolievna
  65. Olshevsky, Anton Yurievich
  66. Omelchenko, Vitaly Nikolaevich
  67. Parkova, Galina Vasilievna
  68. Parfentiev, Georgy Konstantinovich
  69. Parfentieva, Tatyana Ivanovna
  70. Petrenko, Valery Grigorievich
  71. Petrushin, Eduard Mikhailovich
  72. Polozov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich
  73. Ponomarenko, Liudmila Ivanovna
  74. Postnikov, Oleg Vladimirovich
  75. Purge, Nina Ivanovna
  76. Putintsev, Aleksandr Nikolaevich
  77. Ravnushkin, Dmitry Vasilievich
  78. Reznichenko, Vasily Pavlovich
  79. Reino-Chernyshova, Elena Allanovna
  80. Rubtsov, Valery Arkadievich
  81. Ryzhkova, Svetlana Anatolievna
  82. Saakyan, Karina Samvelovna
  83. Sagin, Viktor Petrovich
  84. Sandu, Olga Timofeevna
  85. Svetonosov, Sergei Aleksandrovich
  86. Semeniuk, Sergei Yurievich
  87. Slashchev, Valery Vladimirovich
  88. Slobodeniuk, Vitaly Ivanovich
  89. Slobodenyuk, Evgeniya Nikolaevna
  90. Soldatova, Zinaida Viktorovna
  91. Stepkina, Valentina Ivanovna
  92. Suvorova, Valentina Anatolievna
  93. Sycheva, Anastasiya Nikolaevna
  94. Terebilov, Dmitry Sergeevich
  95. Tishchenko, Dmitry Vladimirovich
  96. Tolstonozhenko, Sergei Anatolievich
  97. Usanova, Raisa Mikhailovna
  98. Feruleva, Tatyana Georgievna
  99. Khabarov, Petr Vladimirovich
  100. Tsarev, Igor Olegovich
  101. Chermnykh, Anton Evgenievich
  102. Shangareev, Fail Samigullovich
  103. Shvalev, Sergei Stepanovich
  104. Sholner, Tatyana Vladimirovna
  105. Shut, Liudmila Aleksandrovna
  106. 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

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