Friends came to support Yevgeniy Sokolov on the day of his appeal, August 20, 2024

Friends came to support Yevgeniy Sokolov on the day of his appeal, August 20, 2024

Friends came to support Yevgeniy Sokolov on the day of his appeal, August 20, 2024

Unjust Verdicts

The Verdict in One of the Two Cases Against Yevgeniy Sokolov Has Entered into Force. The Sentence Remained Unchanged - Three Years Suspended

Amur Region

On August 20, 2024, an appeal in the Amur Regional Court left the verdict unchanged in the case against Yevgeniy Sokolov in Zeya. The believer could not attend the court hearing in person, so he took part in it via video conferencing.

Addressing the panel in the court of appeal, Yevgeniy stated that Jehovah's Witnesses are citizens who respect the authorities, observe the laws of their country, pay taxes and do not participate in protests. He noted: "We don't just pretend to be law-abiding people... We truly serve God, and our words are not at variance with our deeds."

The believer was criminally charged for "preparing and conducting religious meetings." In this regard, he reminded the court that the right to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Yevgeniy said: "If I stopped preaching and meetings with others, then I would be breaking God's own law. And in this instance there really will be no excuse for me."

Yevgeniy Sokolov is being prosecuted simultaneously in two criminal cases. A second case on similar charges is being heard in a court in Voronezh.

The Case of Sokolov in Zeya

Case History
In December 2022, the FSB in Zeya initiated a second criminal case against Yevgeniy Sokolov for his worship. The first case was initiated two years earlier in Voronezh. Then the believer's home was searched, and he spent almost 5 months in a pretrial detention center. In Zeya, he was banned from certain actions. Sokolov was accused of participating in Jehovah's Witnesses meetings, where the believers discussed Bible teachings with friends. As it turned out, the woman, who pretended to be interested in the Bible, on the instructions of an FSB officer, made hidden audio-video recordings of meetings for worship. The prosecutor requested a punishment for the believer 3 years in prison. In May 2024, the court gave him a 3-year suspended sentence, 3 months later the court of appeal upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Sokolov
Yevgeniy

Criminal case

Region:
Amur Region
Locality:
Zeya
Suspected of:
"carried out the preparation and conduct of religious meetings"
Court case number:
12207100001000065
Initiated:
December 15, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Branch of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Amur Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-83/2024
Court of First Instance:
Zeyskiy District Court of the Amur Region
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Arina Fedorova
Case History
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