The Krasnoyarsk Territorial Court Upheld the Suspended Sentence Imposed on Ildar Urazbakhtin from Kodinsk. He Was Convicted as an Extremist for Discussing the Bible

On February 2, 2023, the Krasnoyarsk Territorial Court upheld the judgment against 59-year-old Ildar Urazbakhtin—one of Jehovah's Witnesses from Kodinsk, who received a six-year suspended sentence for his faith.

Ildar faced criminal prosecution in July 2021 when his home was searched. Rosfinmonitoring put him on the list of extremists and blocked all of his financial accounts, which caused a serious hardship for the family because Ildar is the sole breadwinner, and his wife has a stage-three disability. After the search, Urazbakhtin was placed in a temporary detention center for a day and then placed under house arrest for two months.

The Investigative Committee considered Ildar's  videoconferences, during which he "encouraged a deep study of the Bible and inspired others to support their  brothers and sisters", to be organization of the activities of an extremist organization. The court of first instance and the appeal court ignored the position of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Government of the RF and the ECHR by considering such an interpretation lawful.

“It is clear to me that I am being persecuted and punished only because I am a Christian who is one of Jehovah's Witnesses,” said Urazbakhtin at the appeal hearing. He insists on his complete innocence and can appeal the decisions of the courts in cassation court.

In a recent decision, the European Court reiterated that “only religious statements and actions involving or calling for violence, hatred or discrimination” (§ 271) can serve as a basis for conviction for extremism. Despite this, the Russian authorities continue to persecute Jehovah's Witnesses for nothing more than peaceful worship and discussions about the Bible.