Darya Dulova, Venera Dulova and Aleksandr Pryanikov outside the Court of Cassation in Chelyabinsk, November 9, 2023
The fourth appeal released Darya Dulova from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The verdict to the remaining defendants in the case came into force
Sverdlovsk RegionOn February 8, 2024, the Sverdlovsk Regional Court considered the case of Aleksandr Pryanikov and Venera and Daria Dulova for the fourth time. Now the appellate court has approved the suspended sentences for Alexander and Venera (two and a half and two years suspended, respectively) and released Darya from criminal liability.
The court explained its decision by the fact that during the period imputed to the guilt, Darya Dulova was 17 years old, and in this case the statute of limitations is five years (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). It expired in June 2023. The complaints of the defendants and the decision of the prosecutor were dismissed by the panel of judges. Believers do not agree with the verdict and deny guilt in extremism.
For four and a half years, three verdicts were passed in the case of believers from Karpinsk: two guilty ones and acquittal. The first instance considered the case twice, the appellate court four times, and the cassation court twice. The process reached the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Since 2021, another case against the Dulovs and Pryanikov has been considered in court, also on charges of extremism.
The European Court of Human Rights recognized that the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is illegal and ruled in their favor in June 2022.