Illustrative photo

Criminal Investigation and Trial

Two residents of the Nizhny Novgorod region were imprisoned because of their faith

Nizhegorod Region

On August 12, 2019, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court upheld the decision of the lower court, which sent 51-year-old Alexander Vavilov to a pre-trial detention center for his faith. Alexei Oreshkov, 48, is also behind bars. Both are accused of participating in extremist activities, which is how the investigating authorities interpret the peaceful religious beliefs of citizens.

Two believers have been in pre-trial detention centers since mid-July 2019. At the moment, it is known that Alexander Vavilov was sent to pre-trial detention center No. 2 of the Kstovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Alexei Oreshkov is being held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 of Nizhny Novgorod. Both are charged under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in extremist activities). This was preceded by mass searches and detentions of believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region, which took place on July 16 and 17, 2019.

According to the materials of the case, the believers Vavilov and Oreshkov, "realizing a joint criminal intent, acting intentionally, by a group of persons by prior conspiracy ... took active steps aimed at... conducting religious speeches and services" (from the decision to bring A. V. Vavilov as an accused, signed by investigator S. S. Sosunov).

At the moment, more than ten believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region have been prosecuted because of their religion. Law enforcement agencies are convinced that residents of the region are forbidden to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which directly contradicts the position of the Government and the President of the Russian Federation.

Case of Vavilov and Oreshkov in Pavlovo

Case History
In July 2019, mass searches and detentions of Jehovah’s Witnesses took place in Nizhny Novgorod and the city of Pavlovo. The Federal Security Service of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region initiated a criminal case on the suspicion that unidentified persons were participating in extremist activity — this is how the investigation classified the worship of believers. The security forces detained Aleksey Oreshkov and Aleksandr Vavilov and placed them in pretrial detention for 211 and 241 days, respectively. Later, the FSB added Aleksandr Rakovskiy to the same case as a defendant. In January 2021, the case went to court. Despite fabricated testimonies in the case and the fact that there were no victims, in October 2021 the court imposed a 3-year suspended sentence on the peaceful believers. In January 2022, the regional court, and in December the cassation court, left this sentence unchanged.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Nizhegorod Region
Locality:
Pavlovo
Suspected of:
"Realizing a joint criminal intent, acting intentionally, by a group of persons by prior conspiracy . . . took active steps aimed at . . . conducting religious speeches and services”
Court case number:
11907220001000025
Initiated:
July 16, 2019
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Directorate of the FSB of Russia for the Nizhniy Novgorod Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-49/2021
Court of First Instance:
Павловский районный суд Нижегородской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Дмитрий Пестов
Case History