Aleksandr Kalistratov in the courtroom. February 2023

Aleksandr Kalistratov in the courtroom. February 2023

Aleksandr Kalistratov in the courtroom. February 2023

Unjust Verdicts

The Court of Appeal in Gorno-Altaisk Upheld 6.5-Year Suspended Sentence for Aleksandr Kalistratov. 12 Years ago He Had Been Under Trial at the Same Court

Altai

On April 20, 2023, the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic, chaired by Judge Irina Barsukova, upheld the sentence against Aleksandr Kalistratov, who two months earlier had been given a 6.5-year suspended sentence for his faith. The believer still does not admit his guilt for extremism.

In 2010, Aleksandr already appeared twice before the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic, defending his convictions. He became one of the first Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia to face charges under an article for extremism. Then the court fully acquitted the believer, recognizing his criminal prosecution as unlawful. He was given the right to rehabilitation. But in 2021, a criminal case was initiated against him again.

Aleksandr Kalistratov was one of the applicants in the case of Taganrog LRO and Others v. Russia (application No. 32401/10) before the European Court of Human Rights. On June 7, 2022, the court concluded that in relation to the religious activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Russia had shown “indications of a policy of intolerance... towards the religious practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses designed to cause Jehovah’s Witnesses to abandon their faith and to prevent others from joining it” (§254).

The Case of Kalistratov in Gorno-Altaysk

Case History
Aleksandr Kalistratov has faced criminal prosecution for the third time because of his faith. In 2000, he was arrested and placed in a pretrial detention center for 21 days for refusing to take up arms. However, he was later acquitted by the court with the right to rehabilitation. In 2010, again for his beliefs Aleksandr found himself in the dock, on charges of extremism. His case was considered twice within 1.5 years. As a result, the first guilty verdict under Article 282 of the RF CrC was passed against one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eventually, the believer managed to defend his honest name: the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic found Kalistratov not guilty with the right to rehabilitation. But in December 2021, he again became a defendant in a criminal case under the same article for extremism. Kalistratov’s house was searched, after which the believer was placed under a recognizance agreement. In February 2023, the court gave Aleksandr a 6.5-year suspended sentence. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld this verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Kalistratov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Altai
Locality:
Gorno-Altaisk
Suspected of:
convened meetings, "determined the places and methods of holding them through software for video calls through the information and telecommunication network "Internet" for the purpose of secrecy" (from the decision to bring as an accused)
Court case number:
12102840008000049
Initiated:
December 16, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Altai Republic
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-22/2023 (1-471/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Gorno-Altaysk City Court for the Altai Republic
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Natalya Sokolova
Case History