Sergey Parfenovich and Yuriy Gerashchenko in the courtroom, October 4, 2023

Sergey Parfenovich and Yuriy Gerashchenko in the courtroom, October 4, 2023

Sergey Parfenovich and Yuriy Gerashchenko in the courtroom, October 4, 2023

Unjust Verdicts

Instead of a Suspended Sentence – 6 Years in a Penal Colony: Court of Appeal in Crimea Toughened 'Too Lenient' Sentence for Two Jehovah's Witnesses

Crimea

As a result of the appeal hearing on October 3, 2024, in the Crimea Supreme Court, Yuriy Gerashchenko and Sergey Parfenovich, father of many children, were given prison terms and arrested in the court room. The panel of judges, chaired by Natalya Grebennikova, supported the position of the prosecutor's office, which considered the punishment imposed on the believers as insufficient.

The believers do not consider themselves guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization; in their appeals, they asked to be acquitted. Commenting on the decision of the district court, Yuriy Gerashchenko's lawyer noted: "From... the evidence in the case nothing can be concluded other than Gerashchenko belongs to the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which is not prohibited in the Russian Federation, as well as that he was periodically present at meetings of a religious group of followers of this religion, among many others of its followers." Parfenovich's lawyer stated that his client also acted inline with the law on freedom of religion.

Another nine of Jehovah's Witnesses from Crimea have been sentenced to 6 or more years in a penal colony for their beliefs. The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly called for an end to the prosecution of believers.

The Case of Parfenovich and Gerashchenko in Krasnogvardeyskoye

Case History
In September 2022, armed security forces raided the family home of Sergey Parfenovich, father of six. They searched the believer’s house for 6 hours in the presence of his minor daughter and elderly disabled father. After that, Parfenovich was detained and taken to Simferopol for interrogation. He spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility and 1.5 months in a pretrial detention center, and then he was placed under house arrest for 1.5 years. The case was investigated by the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. Sergey was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The same charge was brought against Yuriy Gerashchenko in March 2023. He spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility and nearly 9 months under house arrest. In July 2023, the case went to court, a year later, Sergey and Yuriy were given 6-year suspended sentences. The court of appeal changed it to prison terms.
Timeline

Persons in case

Gerashchenko
Yuriy
Parfenovich
Sergey

Criminal case

Region:
Crimea
Locality:
Krasnogvardeyskoye
Suspected of:
"acting intentionally... committed actions of an organizational nature... expressed in organizing propaganda meetings at which texts and religious provisions of Jehovah's Witnesses were discussed" (from the Ruling to impose a preventive measure in the form of detention)
Court case number:
12202350020000163
Initiated:
September 19, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-8/2024 (1-259/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Krasnogvardeyskiy District Court of the Republic of Crimea
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Valentin Shukalskiy
Case History