A Krasnodar Territory-based peaceful believer Oleg Danilov is sentenced to three years of imprisonment in a correctional colony for practicing his religion

On March 30, 2021, Olga Khomchenkova, Krasnodar Territory Abinsky District Court judge, announced Oleg Danilov's, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, verdict: a three-year imprisonment in a general regime colony for practicing his faith. He was found guilty of participating in the activities of an "extremist" organization.

“I am accused of a terrible crime that I did not commit,” said Oleg Danilov in his last word. “My honest name is mixed with filth, I’m appointed an extremist. Exactly appointed, Your Honor, because my conscience is absolutely clear both before God and before men. My house was searched twice, and nothing significant was found to prove my connection with extremism. My calm, happy life is upside down, my family is forced to take sedatives when they hear knocking on the gate— is that right? " He added: "I would prefer to remain faithful and free in my beliefs, even if not at large."

The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

Although there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor asked the court to impose a sentence on the believer in the form of 3 years in a general regime colony. The court agreed with this. The defendant was taken into custody immediately after the announcement of the verdict. Now he is in SIZO-3 of Novorossiysk.

In April 2020, Oleg Danilov and his family were searched, but the security forces did not find anything prohibited. Subsequently, the search was repeated. On November 12, 2020, a criminal case was initiated against the believer under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of a prohibited organization). The initiator of the investigation was the investigator of the FSB of Russia in the Krasnodar Territory, O. I. Komissarov, the same person who investigated the case of Aleksandr Ivshin, who was subsequently sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, and two other believers from Kholmskaya.

Oleg Danilov was accused of participating “in religious teaching and sermons ... through information and telecommunication networks, ... entered into discussions in a collective discussion of the Bible, ... read aloud to other participants the religious books Jehovah's Witnesses, with an emphasis on the fact that that these books contain the correct knowledge about God ... ”.

It took about 3.5 months from the date of the initiation of the criminal case until the end of the investigation and the transfer of the case to the court on March 1, 2021. All this time, the believer was under recognizance agreement, it was difficult for him to provide for his family financially—Oleg and his wife are raising two teenage sons.

Law enforcers perceive peaceful meetings of believers, conversations on spiritual topics and reading the Bible as a threat to security for society and the state. They have equated Jehovah's Witnesses with dangerous criminals, although this religion is not prohibited in Russia.

Religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko wrote: “Jehovah's Witnesses are our fellow citizens who have the right to believe as they believe and preach the values that they believe are true. As life shows, the absolute majority of Jehovah's Witnesses are law-abiding, strive to live in accordance with the moral standards set forth in the Bible. They reject violence, pay taxes in good faith, value peace in the family, society and state, and recognize the right of other people to have their own convictions."