In Tatarstan, Three of Jehovah's Witnesses Were Given Long Suspended Sentences. The Court Found Them Guilty of Extremism for Their Faith in God

On September 5, 2023, Sergey Kamenov, judge of the Nizhnekamsk City Court of the Republic of Tatarstan gave a 6-year suspended sentence to Denis Filatov, Stanislav Klyuchnikov and Dmitriy Yarchak, who has had a disability since childhood. The court deemed praying and singing religious songs to be extremism.

The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed. The believers maintain their complete innocence.

In November 2020, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Tatarstan initiated a criminal case and conducted a series of searches in Nizhnekamsk. An investigation was launched against the three men, which lasted 14 months. In January 2022, the case went to court, where it was considered for a further 19 months. All this time, the believers were under a recognizance agreement. Several witnesses summoned to court for questioning stated that they gave testimony to the investigator under pressure and threats from law enforcement officers, and one woman reported that the investigator arbitrarily added words to the protocol that she did not say. The main part of the charges is based on the testimony of a secret witness.

Speaking in court, the believers explained that the RF Supreme Court did not ban the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Klyuchnikov said: "I think that the preliminary investigation agencies are incorrectly and arbitrarily interpreting the decision of the Supreme Court. And the reason I am on trial today, is their misinterpretation, and not the crime I allegedly I committed." Denis Filatov added: "The episodes of participating in meetings for worship imputed to me can only indicate exercising the right to practice my religion and use methods of expressing faith that were not prohibited." Dmitriy Yarchak also said: "While being peaceful and observing the law, I use the right guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation."

In Tatarstan, 13 more people have faced prosecution for their faith in Jehovah God. One of them, Konstantin Sannikov, has been sentenced to 6.5 years imprisonment.