A Verdict for Religion Was Announced in Kemerovo. Sergey Yavushkin and Aleksandr Bondarchuk Got 4 Years Suspended

On June 22, 2021, Vera Ulyanyuk, the judge of the Zavodskiy District Court of Kemerovo, sentenced the believers. 60-year-old Sergey Yavushkin and 46-year-old Aleksandr Bondarchuk were sentenced to 4 years suspended.

Before the verdict was pronounced, Sergey Yavushkin addressed the court with the last word: “I did not incite hatred or enmity and, of course, did not humiliate the dignity of anyone. Even the prosecution witnesses spoke about this ... What is my crime? After all, following the guidance from the Bible, I quit smoking, although before that I had smoked for more than 20 years, stopped using foul language, became more restrained and calm. As I continue to work honestly and lead a peaceful, balanced life, I have also changed the way I respond to insults or grudges. All these years I did not violate the law of the Russian Federation, and for 25 years I professed the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, but for some reason now suddenly, in an instant, I turned into a criminal and an extremist. "

Nevertheless, the judge issued a conviction, which turned out to be milder than the prosecutor demanded, requesting 5 years of imprisonment in a colony for each defendant. The court decision has not entered into force and can be appealed.

Active criminal prosecution of believers began after the search on June 23, 2018. A year later, the security forces came to them again. A few days earlier, on July 19, 2019, a criminal case was opened against Sergey and Aleksandr. After their arrest, Sergey Yavushkin and Aleksandr Bondarchuk spent 2 days in the pretrial detention facility, and then were placed under house arrest. They have not been able to leave their home for over a year and a half. Their property was seized despite the fact that the appellate instance overturned this judgment.

The case of the believers was investigated by the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Kemerovo Region for over 8 months. The accusation is mainly based on the testimony of a witness who for a long time conducted secret filming of religious meetings. According to the expert V. V. Shiller, who was involved in the trial, the witness also passed distorted information to the investigation, "having no precise knowledge of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Recently, Aleksandr Bondarchuk worked as a refractory worker at a coke-chemical plant, where he was considered an indispensable specialist in the repair of coke ovens. Sergey Yavushkin worked for 40 years at state enterprises, until recently - as a high-grade electric and gas welder. The criminal prosecution seriously affected the physical and emotional health of Sergey and his wife. Soon after the search and arrest, the believer suffered a stroke, the consequences of which he still feels - due to a lack of coordination of movement, he can hardly perform short housework, needs outside help and medical supervision.

Back in May 2020, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention claimed that 18 believers, including Aleksandr Bondarchuk and Sergey Yavushkin, were arbitrarily detained and detained “just for the fact that they peacefully professed their religion, including themselves religious texts and Bibles, gathered together for services with fellow believers. " But despite the fact that the court attached this document to the case, it was not taken into account.

April 1, 2021 at the press conference “70th Anniversary of Operation North”. Lessons of repression "religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko emphacized:" The policy of forceful suppression of Jehovah's Witnesses, which has been carried out in the Russian Federation since 2017, is futile. This is evidenced by the lessons of Operation North and the analysis of the current situation, including the steadfastness of Jehovah's Witnesses in upholding their beliefs. It seems expedient, from the point of view of the state interests of Russia, to implement a set of measures for the return of Jehovah's Witnesses to the legal field."