Aleksandr and Yulia Kalistratov at the court house. February, 2023

Aleksandr and Yulia Kalistratov at the court house. February, 2023

Aleksandr and Yulia Kalistratov at the court house. February, 2023

Unjust Verdicts

Court of Cassation Did Not Change the Verdict Against Aleksandr Kalistratov. He Will Continue to Serve a 6.5-Year Suspended Sentence for his Faith in Jehovah God

Altai

On October 31, 2023, the Eighth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Kemerovo upheld the verdict against 47-year-old Aleksandr Kalistratov — a 6.5-year suspended sentence — for his faith.

Earlier, in 2010, the Supreme Court of the Altai Republic fully acquitted Kalistratov under Article 282 of the RF CrC. In April 2023, the same court upheld the guilty verdict for peaceful conversations about God. The believer maintained his innocence. In his cassation appeal, he stated: "My motive was not extremism, but the intention to exercise the right to practice and spread the faith in the ways common to Jehovah's Witnesses."

The defense believes that these judicial acts were issued in violation of the law and international treaties of the Russian Federation. The defendant emphasized: "When the case against me was initiated, the investigation had no information of any action that could be considered a crime. Therefore, the investigation lacked the grounds for initiating a criminal case."

Kalistratov also pointed out that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not prohibit either the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses or the methods of practicing it. "Accordingly," continued Aleksandr, "the followers of this religion were not required to renounce their faith, or to stop expressing it ... (by holding joint meetings for worship, spreading teachings or meeting with fellow believers)."

The European Court of Human Rights has emphasized that "legal formalities should not be used to impede the freedom of association of groups disliked by the authorities or advocating ideas that the authorities would like to suppress" (§ 243).

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