Unjust Verdicts

Term in a Penal Colony for Their Faith: Court of Appeal in the Primorye Territory Upheld the Verdict Against Three Jehovah's Witnesses. One of Them is a 72-year-old Believer with a Serious Illness

Primorye Territory

On October 3, 2024, the Primorye Territory Regional Court upheld the guilty verdict against Boris Andreyev, Anatoliy Li and Nataliya Sharapova. The panel of judges reduced the sentences of Li and Sharapova by 1 month. Nataliya served her term in full during her time in the pretrial detention center and is expected to be released soon.

Update. Natalia Sharapova was released the day after the appeal hearing.

Andreyev and Li will have to spend about 2 years in the penal colony. Speaking before the Court of Appeal, Anatoliy Li said: "I didn't kill, I didn't rob, I didn't go to rallies, did I, but my family is suffering. I just don't believe in God the same as everyone. Is that really a crime?" Boris Andreyev noted: "In the court materials, there is not a single piece of evidence of the cruel charges. And even if someone wanted to look for something like this in my life of 70 plus years, they wouldn't find anything... I simply lived, worshipped God the way it is written in the Bible, wanted to be happy and wished the same for others."

Due to suspected cancer, Andreyev needs regular medical examinations, which are difficult to organize in the detention center. This is how his wife, Aleksandra, commented on the situation: "Transferring him to the place where he will serve his sentence can again delay further tests indefinitely; and the stress that my husband will have to endure with the transfer and the new place, as well as his age and the approaching cold season, can trigger the development of cancer."

Having expressed in their appeals their disagreement with the charges of extremism, Andreyev and Li also pointed out that they were kept in metal cages during the hearings in the court of first instance. Such actions are in violation of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is noteworthy that in July 2024, the ECHR ruled in the case of several Jehovah's Witnesses from Russia and found such treatment of the defendants "amounted to degrading treatment and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights" (Article 3).

The Case of Andreyev and Others in Yaroslavskiy

Case History
In October 2022, law enforcement officers conducted searches at 12 addresses of believers in the village of Yaroslavskiy in Primorye. The Investigative Committee initiated a case against Anatoliy Li and unidentified persons under the article for involving others in the activity of an extremist organization. Later, the charge was reclassified as organizing and participating in such activity. As part of this case, Anatoliy Li and two other believers, Boris Andreyev and Nataliya Sharapova, ended up in a pretrial detention center. The charges were based on video recordings of meetings for worship in which the believers discussed the Bible, sang religious songs and prayed. The case went to court in September 2023. After 9 months, the believers received sentences ranging from 3 to 6.5 years in a penal colony. In September 2024, the court of appeal reduced the sentences of Li and Sharapova by 1 month.The next day, Nataliya was released.
Timeline

Persons in case

Andreyev
Boris
Li
Anatoliy
Sharapova
Nataliya

Criminal case

Region:
Primorye Territory
Locality:
Yaroslavsky
Court case number:
12202050023000021
Initiated:
October 3, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Primorye Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-8/2024 (1-183/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Khorolskiy District Court of the Primorye Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Tatyana Pogorelaya
Case History