Photo: Daria Dulova, one of the defendants in the case

Criminal trial

The prosecutor's office in the Sverdlovsk region signed an indictment against three believers

Sverdlovsk Region

On August 9, 2019, the prosecutor of the city of Karpinsk, Andrei Arzhakhovsky, approved the final document, which summarized the charges against Alexander Pryanikov, Daria and Venera Dulov, suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The case goes to court - read the details in the chronicle of the process.

Three believers are charged with participating in the activities of the banned religious organization "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" - this is how law enforcement agencies interpret reading the Bible with friends. In their opinion, 19-year-old student Daria Dulova colluded with her mother and acquaintance Pryanikov and "continued to actively participate in the activities of a banned local religious organization," and also had a "psychological impact on society." All three were charged under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

It is noteworthy that Daria Dulova is the youngest accused in the trials against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia at the moment, and her mother Venera has been receiving a group III disability pension since 1996. Alexander Pryanikov is an entrepreneur who makes decorative tiles. All three are under recognizance agreement. Searches were carried out in their homes, electronic devices and various documents were seized from them.

Law enforcement officers of the Sverdlovsk region continue to believe that residents of the region do not have the right to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which contradicts Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the statement of the Government of the Russian Federation: "[the decisions of the Russian courts] do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually."

Case of Prianikov and Others in Karpinsk

Case History
In June 2018, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov were detained for talking about the Bible. A criminal case was opened against them under an extremist article. A year later, Daria Dulova became the third defendant in the case. In January 2020, they were sentenced to suspended sentences ranging from 1 year to 2.5 years. An appeal in Yekaterinburg overturned the verdict and returned the case to the court of first instance. This time, the prosecutor requested a more severe punishment, but the court duplicated the first verdict. In March 2022, the appellate court again overturned the verdict, acquitting the believers. The cassation court did not change this decision. However, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned it in March 2023 and returned the case to the appeal stage, which returned the case to the prosecutor’s office, after which the cassation sent it for a new appeal hearing. A fourth appellate decision upheld the convictions of Aleksandr and Venera. Daria is exempt from criminal liability, as the statute of limitations has expired. All three believers are defendants in another criminal case for their faith.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Sverdlovsk Region
Locality:
Karpinsk
Suspected of:
"Within the jurisdiction of the city of Karpinsk... together with a group of people, being fully aware that the religious organization Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was declared extremist and its activities in the Russian Federation were prohibited, [he] participated in its activities by directly taking part in events, carrying out propaganda of its activities, familiarizing with religious literature."
Court case number:
11802650042000038
Initiated:
July 30, 2018
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
СО в г. Краснотурьинске СУ Следственного комитета РФ по Свердловской области
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-11/2021 (1-184/2020; 1-5/2020; 1-167/2019)
Court:
Карпинский городской суд Свердловской области
Case History