Court in Yaroslavl Fined a Believer 75,000 Rubles for Practicing the Religion of Jehovah's Witnesses

On September 23, 2024, Marina Chipilenko, judge of the Dzerzhinskiy District Court of Yaroslavl, convicted Anton Kokovin, 34, and fined him for participating in the activity of an extremist organization. The decision has not entered into force and can be appealed.

About 2.5 years ago, Aleksandr Grigoriyev, investigator of the Investigative Committee, initiated a criminal case against the believer for participating in an online conference where religious matters were discussed. A day later, Anton was detained on the street; the apartment of his friends, where he was staying, was searched, and after interrogation he was released under a recognizance agreement. Rosfinmonitoring added him to the list of terrorists and extremists, and his bank accounts were blocked.

In May 2023, Anton Kokovin's case went to court. During the hearings, the defense noted that there were serious errors in the case materials, especially in the forensic audio expert study. Despite this, the prosecution requested 3 years imprisonment for the believer.

In total, 11 Jehovah's Witnesses have been subjected to prosecution for their religion in the Yaroslavl Region. Four of them have already served their sentences.