Five Believers From Balakovo Were Sentenced for Discussing the Bible: Two Got Suspended, Three Received Fines

On November 23, 2023, Judge Natalya Nikitinskaya of the Balakovo District Court of the Saratov Region sentenced Jehovah's Witnesses Aleksey Bogatov and Vladimir Mavrin to 6 years of suspended sentence with a probation period of 4 years. Their fellow believers Andrey Murych, Sergey Tyurin and Yevgeny Fomashin, were fined 300,000 rubles.

According to law enforcement officers, the believers committed extremist actions, "resuming and organizing the activities of the local religious unit [Jehovah's Witnesses] on the territory of the city of Balakovo, expressed in convening meetings and carrying out preaching activities." The criminal case was initiated in February 2022. A month later, security forces invaded the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses with searches that lasted for several hours and took place in the presence of the elderly, the disabled and a child. After interrogations, which ended after midnight, Bogatov, Mavrin, Fomashin, Murych and Tyurin were placed behind bars, where they spent 304 days each, after which they were chosen a measure of restraint not related to detention. The state prosecutor requested 7 years in prison for Mavrin and Bogatov, and 3 years in prison for the rest.

Before the verdict was announced, about 200 people gathered outside the courthouse: friends and simply caring people who wanted to provide emotional support to believers. Approximately 20 of them were allowed into the courtroom. The defendants themselves came to the hearing with bags of things - in case they were deprived of their liberty. Although the judge decided to limit herself to suspended sentences and fines, believers consider themselves innocent of extremism and can appeal the verdict.

Recalling the experience, Alexey Bogatov said that during his imprisonment in the pre-trial detention center, he was helped by the support of his wife, friends and other caring people. He shared, "[The letters] gave me strength and joy... Fellow believers constantly call my wife and assure her that they love us very much and always pray for us. Specifically, they help - they share products from their gardens.

Yevgeny Fomashin: "In the pre-trial detention center, I was convinced many times how the principles set forth in the Bible were protection from bad relationships, from being involved in unworthy prison life."

Before the start of the criminal prosecution, Andrey Murych was the only breadwinner in the family. After being taken into custody, his wife had to look for work for a long time. The believer managed to see her on a short visit only four months later, before that he communicated with his family through letters. During the 10 months in the pre-trial detention center, the believer received 1802 letters from all over the world. He says, "It made a huge impression not only on me, but also on my cellmates."

Vladimir Mavrin said that the most difficult thing for him was separation from his wife, son, granddaughter and elderly mother: "I was worried about them ... I couldn't take care of them." Unfortunately, five months after the arrest of the believer, his mother was hospitalized because of strong feelings, and a week later she died. The support and attention that his friends and relatives provided to Mavrin by correspondence (once he received 70 letters at once in one day) gave him strength.

Sergey Tyurin said: "In the pre-trial detention center, I saw how people lose the support of friends over time. It's safe to say that we have the opposite: there are only more friends."

Due to the actions of law enforcement agencies in the Saratov region, 12 people have already suffered from unjustified criminal prosecution. Among them are 7 believers who have already served their sentences in a colony, three of them were deported and deprived of citizenship of the Russian Federation.