In Pskov, the Third Appeal Reduced the Term of Imprisonment of Aleksey Khabarov in the Penal Colony by Two Months

On December 20, 2023, a panel of judges of the Pskov Regional Court, chaired by Dmitriy Kazantsev, slightly changed the sentence of Aleksey Khabarov: the fact that the believer handed the Bible to the woman was excluded from the conviction. Khabarov will serve his sentence of 2 years and 4 months in a penal colony.

In his appeal, Aleksey Khabarov stated: "I did not engage in extremist or other illegal activities. I lead a peaceful life, respect authority, and obey the law because I am a believer. The manifestation of hatred, enmity and violence is incompatible with my views. I respect representatives of other religions and nationalities. I was convicted only for believing in God."

Because of the criminal prosecution, the reputation of peaceful believers suffers. Aleksey Khabarov put it this way: "By their actions, the state authorities present me and my fellow believers in a bad light before society, contribute to the spread of prejudice and form the idea that Jehovah's Witnesses are a 'dangerous and dubious sect.' Such abusive, illegal and grossly disproportionate actions cannot be justified in a democratic society."

At the moment, the believer is in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in the Pskov region in the city of Velikiye Luki and after a while he will be transferred to a penal colony.