Unjust Verdicts

A Second Appeal in Rostov-on-Don Toughened the Sentence for Arsen Avanesov. Instead of 6.5 Years — 7 Years in a Penal Colony

Rostov Region

Recently it became known that back on August 8, 2022, the Rostov Regional Court toughened the punishment for one of the three believers from Rostov , Arsen Avanesov, who was previously sentenced to 6.5 years in a penal colony, adding another six months to the term.

In June 2022, the court of cassation in Krasnodar upheld the verdict against Vilen Avanesov and Aleksandr Parkov, but satisfied the prosecutor’s request regarding Arsen. The believer was again charged with “financing extremist activity”, a charge that the court had previously excluded. Later the case of Arsen Avanesov returned to the stage of appeal, where his sentence was toughened.

The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of 7 June 2022 states that “imposition of criminal sanctions for manifestation of religious beliefs amounts to an interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion under Article 9 § 1 of the [European] Convention” (264). Despite this, law enforcement officers in the Rostov Region and throughout Russia continue to sentence law-abiding citizens  for long terms for their faith.

The Case of Avanesovs and Others in Rostov-on-Don

Case History
Searches, arrests, humiliation and intimidation — in May 2019, Aleksandr Parkov, Vilen and Arsen Avanesov from Rostov-on-Don were detained by officers of the Investigative Committee for allegedly continuing the activity of the banned organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were placed in a pretrial detention center, where they spent 925 days. The charges against the believers were based on falsifications and the testimony of a provocateur recruited by the FSB. In July 2021, the court sentenced Vilen to 6 years in a penal colony, and Aleksandr and Arsen to 6.5 years. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld this decision. Arsen was also charged under another article — financing the activity of an extremist organization, and his sentence was increased to 7 years. In February 2024, Vilen Avanesov was released, having served his term in full. In August 2024, Aleksandr Parkov, and in October Arsen Avanesov were also released from the penal colony.
Timeline

Persons in case

Avanesov
Arsen
Avanesov
Vilen
Parkov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Rostov Region
Locality:
Rostov-on-Don
Suspected of:
According to the investigation they continued their activity and led the Local Religious Organization (LRO) of Jehovah's Witnesses, received religious literature, invited other people to join the meetings for worship, and used their places of residence for meetings
Court case number:
11902007712000035
Initiated:
May 22, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
First Investigation Directorate (deployed in Rostov-on-Don) of the Main Investigation Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-44/2021 (1-415/2020)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court for the City of Rostov-on-Don
Judge:
Vladimir Hudaverdyan
Case History