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Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Perm: Criminal Case for Faith, Believer Sent to Prison

Perm Territory

Sent to a temporary detention center 48-year-old Alexander Solovyov, a resident of Perm, who is suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. He was detained on the evening of May 22, 2018. The issue of choosing a preventive measure against him should be decided on May 24.

Alexander Solovyov and his wife Anna were returning home after a trip abroad. Friends who came to meet them at the Perm-2 railway station saw that law enforcement officers drove up to the car, handcuffed Aleksandr, and he and his wife were taken in different cars in an unknown direction.

Throughout the night of May 22-23, searches were carried out in their apartment, during which all electronic devices, storage media, a wi-fi router, photographs, and a collection of Bibles were seized.

Refinement. Information about the seizure of property documents from the Solovyovs was subsequently not confirmed.

Aleksandr Solovyov is in a temporary detention facility at 90 Uralskaya Street in Perm. His wife has now been released.

Case of Solovyev in Perm

Case History
In May 2018, a criminal case was opened against Alexander Solovyov from Perm for participating in the activities of an extremist organization. The reason for this was audio recordings made on the instructions of Center “E” by a man who previously professed the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Lieutenant Colonel Utkin sent these records for examination to the catechist of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Perm Theological Seminary. The indictment collected almost all the common myths about Jehovah’s Witnesses: “incitement to hatred”, “calls for the destruction of families”, “refusal of medical care” and others. After the search and interrogation, Aleksandr spent six months under house arrest. The prosecutor’s office asked to send the believer to a colony for 3.5 years. On July 4, 2019, the judge of the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Perm, Denis Shvetsov, found Solovyov guilty and sentenced him to a fine of 300 thousand rubles.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Perm Territory
Locality:
Perm
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he participated in religious services, which is interpreted as participating in the activity of an extremist organisation (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802570030000021
Initiated:
May 22, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Perm Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-274/19
Court:
Орджоникидзевский районный суд Перми
Judge:
Швецов Денис Иванович
Case History