Photo: Invasion of believers in Tomsk (2018)

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Mass Searches and Detentions Took Place in Penza

Penza Region

On July 15, 2018, four groups of law enforcement officers led by Major Alexander Bukov simultaneously broke into the apartments of civilians in Penza just because they allegedly profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Electronics, photographs, documents, and personal records were seized in all apartments. About 40 people were taken to police stations for questioning, leaving the children alone at home.

Some police officers humiliated and intimidated believers during searches. In one case, a female investigator forced six women to fully undress for a body search.

After interrogations, which lasted well after midnight, criminal cases were opened against four believers under various parts of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – participation in the activities of an extremist organization or organization thereof. Vladimir Alushkin was remanded in custody until September 14, 2018 inclusive. Vladimir Kulyasov, Andrey Magliv and Denis Timoshin were placed under house arrest for the same period.

Law enforcement officers across the country mistakenly mistake citizens' joint religion for participation in an extremist organization. Prominent public figures of Russia, as well as the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, have already drawn attention to this problem.

Case of Alushkin and Others in Penza

Case History
In July 2018, searches were carried out in Penza and criminal cases were initiated against 6 local Jehovah’s Witnesses. It turned out that since the fall of 2017, the believers had been under covert surveillance. Vladimir Alushkin spent six months in a pre-trial detention center. The UN Working Group officially recognized his arrest as arbitrary. In the summer of 2019, the case was submitted to the Leninsky District Court of Penza. During the hearings, it turned out that the protocols of the witnesses’ interrogations were partially falsified by the investigation, and one of the witnesses told the court that she had testified under pressure. In December 2019, Judge Roman Tanchenko sentenced Vladimir Alushkin to 6 years in prison, and Tatyana Alushkina, Galia Olkhova, Vladimir Kulyasov, Andrey Magliv and Denis Timoshin to 2 years suspended. In September 2020, the Penza Regional Court commuted the sentence of Vladimir Alushkin, replacing 6 years in prison with 4 years probation. For the rest, the court upheld the sentence - 2 years suspended. On December 9, 2021, the First Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Penza Region
Locality:
Penza
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:
11802560015000075
Initiated:
July 11, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Bessonovskiy Inter-district Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Penza Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-110/2020 (1-167/2019)
Court:
Ленинский районный суд г. Пензы
Case History