Courts have handed 70 Jehovah's Witnesses suspended sentences of up to seven years as a direct result of the Supreme Court's 2017 ban on Jehovah's Witness activity. One Muslim who met other Muslims to study theologian Said Nursi's works was given a two-year suspended sentence in 2018. Although those sentenced remain free, they must live under restrictions imposed by the courts and report regularly to probation authorities. If they are found guilty of another crime or repeated administrative offences – including any unrelated to their earlier convictions – they risk being sent to prison.

Suspended sentences are now the most common form of punishment handed down to Jehovah's Witnesses found guilty of "organising" or "participating" in allegedly "extremist" activity such as continuing to meet for worship. No Muslim readers of the works of theologian Said Nursi – who face similar "extremism" prosecutions - are known to be serving suspended sentences (see below).

On 12 May 2021, the same trial – at Industrial District Court in Perm – resulted in both the oldest person so far given a suspended sentence, and the longest suspended sentence so far. Eighty-year-old Boris Burylov received a suspended sentence of two years and six months, while 52-year-old Igor Turik received a seven-year suspended sentence (see below).

Both Burylov and Turik also received a four-year probationary period, during which a further offence may result in their imprisonment.

Since 2017, courts have handed fines to 11 Jehovah's Witnesses, and two Muslims who met other Muslims to read Nursi's works. Ten of the Jehovah's Witness fines were imposed following the 2017 nationwide ban, and one fine as a consequence of the 2016 ban on the Jehovah's Witness community in Oryol.

The fines imposed have so far been towards the lower end of the range stipulated by the Criminal Code. They still represent a serious financial penalty, in some cases amounting to more than 10 times the average Russian monthly salary. Other financial problems are caused when people are placed on the Rosfinmonitoring "List of Terrorists and Extremists" while under investigation or after conviction.

(A list of the 70 Jehovah's Witnesses with suspended sentences currently in force, and the 11 Jehovah's Witnesses and two Muslims who have been fined since 2017 is at the foot of this article. Muslims and Jehovah's Witnesses who have been jailed for exercising freedom of religion and belief are listed in a separate article.)

The longest probationary period – during which another offence may lead to imprisonment – is five years, imposed on four Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow, Smolensk, and Primorye Regions. The largest known fine is 700,000 Roubles, received by Yevgeny Spirin from Ivanovo Region on 28 July 2020.

Consequences of suspended sentences

If the convicted person commits another crime or repeated administrative offences while a suspended sentence is in force, they might be jailed.

Jehovah's Witnesses already serving suspended sentences have described the consequences of suspended sentences, including being unable to see relatives living in other regions, and finding it impossible to secure jobs. They must also register regularly with probation authorities, and police may visit their homes at any time to check that they are obeying night-time curfews and travel restrictions.

Further trials to come of Muslims who met to read Nursi's works?

Muslims who meet to study the writings of Said Nursi may also be prosecuted under the Extremism Law for organising or participating in the activities of "Nurdzhular". This organisation was banned as "extremist" in 2008, but Muslims in Russia deny any such formal organisation ever existed. Typically, such Muslims meet in homes to study Islam, with one or more expounding on Nursi's works. They also pray, eat, and drink tea together, and do not seek state permission to meet.

No trials are currently underway of Muslims who met to study Nursi's works. This may change, as four people are facing prosecution in the Tatarstan and Dagestan Republics.

There have been no convictions for such meetings since a Krasnoyarsk court fined 24-year-old Andrei Rekst three months' average wages in October 2018.

No Muslims who met other Muslims to read Nursi's works are currently known to be serving a suspended sentence. The last such sentence was a two-year suspended sentence handed down on 14 August 2018 to 27-year-old Sabirzhon Kabirzoda.

More than 470 Jehovah's Witnesses under investigation, on trial, or convicted

More than 470 Jehovah's Witnesses remain under investigation, are on trial, or have been convicted for continuing to meet for prayer and Bible study after the 2017 Supreme Court ban. They argue that the ban applies to the activities of the Administrative Centre and its subsidiary local congregations as legal entities, not to Jehovah's Witness beliefs or to their expression, whether individual or collective.

A total of 108 people have now received sentences, including 10 fines, 70 suspended sentences, and 28 prison terms. Several court decisions have not yet come into force, as appeals are still pending.

Two other Jehovah's Witnesses have been convicted of "continuing the activities" of the local Jehovah's Witness religious organisation in Oryol, which was liquidated as "extremist" in 2016, before the nationwide ban. One of them - Danish citizen Dennis Christensen - was given a six-year prison term in February 2019. The other, Sergey Skrynnikov, was fined about 18 months' average local wages in April 2019.

Courts in Crimea and Sevastopol, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, have also sentenced Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims to imprisonment for exercising their right to freedom of religion and belief.

In the last four years, only one Jehovah's Witness – Yury Zalipayev from the Republic of Kabardino-Balkariya – has been acquitted of an extremism-related offence. His case was unconnected to the 2017 ban.

Charges against a further nine have been dropped. Eight of them were being prosecuted as a consequence of the 2017 ban, the other on unrelated "extremism" charges.

Variety of sentences, no one acquitted

Despite the similarities in the activities being prosecuted, trials have so far ended in a variety of sentences – from prison terms of several years, to suspended sentences of varying lengths, to a range of fines. There has also been one sentence of assigned work, later changed to a fine.

No one prosecuted in cases relating to the 2017 nationwide ban on Jehovah's Witnesses has been acquitted. Judges have returned some cases to prosecutors who later resubmit them. Defendants have sometimes succeeded in getting sentences reduced (most recently, Krasnodar Regional Court reduced Aleksandr Shcherbina's three-year prison sentence to two years on appeal on 24 June), or having cases sent for retrial on appeal, though no conviction has yet been overturned.

Six Jehovah's Witnesses who had been charged or named as suspects in criminal cases are known to have died – four while under investigation, one shortly before his trial began, and one after investigators had closed the case against her, but before she had received any compensation.

Raids on homes continue

The Investigative Committee, police, the FSB security service, and National Guard troops continue to raid Jehovah's Witness homes. Some of the raids have included torture, with no arrests or trials of suspect torturers. The most recent known raids were in Krasnoyarsk Region on 11 June, Kemerovo Region on 8 June, and Khabarovsk Region on 5 June. Prosecutions are currently underway in 65 of Russia's 83 federal subjects.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in May 2020 adopted a wide-ranging Opinion condemning the "ever-growing number of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia who have been arrested, detained and charged with criminal activity on the basis of mere exercise of freedom of religion".

Prisoners of conscience

Both Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims who met to study the works of theologian Said Nursi have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to eight years.

At present, only one Muslim who met with other Muslims to read Nursi's works remains imprisoned - Ilgar Vagif-ogly Aliyev (born 16 February 1977). A court in Dagestan sentenced him in May 2018 to eight years' imprisonment plus two years of restrictions on freedom for alleged involvement in "Nurdzhular".

Another Muslim, Yevgeny Kim, who met others to study Nursi's writings, was sentenced to three years and nine months' imprisonment in June 2017. In January 2019, he was stripped of his Russian citizenship, and was immediately placed in a detention centre for foreign and stateless persons upon his release in April 2019. He remained held there for two years, as his birthplace of Uzbekistan refuses to accept him. The deportation centre finally released him on 31 May 2021, but his position remains uncertain.

==================================================

List of those given suspended sentences or fines since 2017 after "extremism"-related convictions for exercising freedom of religion or belief. All those listed are Jehovah's Witnesses, apart from two fined Muslims who met other Muslims to study Nursi's works.

Convictions have been under these Criminal Code articles:
- Article 282.2 for "organising" (Part 1), or "participating in" (Part 2), "the activity of a social or religious association or other organisation in relation to which a court has adopted a decision legally in force on liquidation or ban on the activity in connection with the carrying out of extremist activity". The majority of convictions have been under this Article;
- Article 282.2, Part 1.1 ("Inclination, recruitment or other involvement of a person in an extremist organisation");
- and Article 282.3, Part 1 ("Financing extremist activity").

Most of those listed have been placed on the Rosfinmonitoring "List of Terrorists and Extremists".

This list is broken down by category of punishment, with regional headings referring to where people were tried.

SUSPENDED SENTENCES (both in force and with appeals pending)

- Amur Region

Zeya District Court
2 June 2021
1) Vasily Pavlovich Reznichenko (born 18 August 1942) – 2 years, suspended; 8 months' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Chelyabinsk Region

Central District Court, Chelyabinsk
7 June 2021
2) Dmitry Yuryevich Vinogradov (born 9 September 1963) – 2 years, suspended; 4 years' probation; 3 years' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unknown

Metallurgical District Court, Chelyabinsk
11 March 2021
3) Valentina Anatolyevna Suvorova (born 18 January 1948) – 2 years, suspended; 1 year's probation; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unknown

- Jewish Autonomous Region

Birobidzhan District Court
20 January 2021
4) Yevgeny Anatolyevich Golik (born 27 October 1975) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 16 March 2021, Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
5) Konstantin Viktorovich Guzev (born 16 June 1964) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 13 May 2021, Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

2 February 2021
6) Artur Sergeyevich Lokhvitsky (born 31 January 1986) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 8 April 2021, Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

12 February 2021
7) Igor Olegovich Tsaryov (born 14 May 1974) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 29 April 2021, Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

1 April 2021
8) Tatyana Yuryevna Zagulina (18 June 1984) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Appeal: unknown

21 June 2021
9) Yevgeny Viktorovich Yegorov (born 19 February 1991) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Appeal: unknown

25 June 2021
10) Tatyana Vladimirovna Sholner (born 31 August 1993) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unknown

Obluchye District Court
21 January 2021
11) Anastasiya Nikolayevna Sychyova (born 5 May 1977) – 2 years, suspended; 2 years' probation; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 11 March 2021, Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
20 April 2021
12) Larisa Aleksandrovna Artamonova (born 7 September 1970) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 1 year's restrictions on freedoms
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Originally convicted on 12 February 2021 at Birobidzhan District Court and given a 10,000 Rouble fine – sentence increased on appeal by prosecution

22 April 2021
13) Yelena Allanovna Reyno-Chernyshova (born 21 June 1968) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Originally convicted on 17 February 2021 at Birobidzhan District Court and given a 10,000 Rouble fine – sentence increased on appeal by prosecution

12 May 2021
14) Svetlana Yakovlevna Monis (born 15 July 1977) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Originally convicted on 15 February 2021 at Birobidzhan District Court and given a 10,000 Rouble fine – sentence increased on appeal by prosecution

13 May 2021
15) Yuliya Fyodorovna Kaganovich (born 5 May 1966) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Originally convicted on 16 February 2021 at Birobidzhan District Court and given a 10,000 Rouble fine to be paid in instalments over five months – sentence increased on appeal by prosecution

- Kamchatka Region

Petropavlovsky-Kamchatsky City Court
24 November 2020
16) Sergey Mikhailovich Ledenyov (born 23 July 1974) – 2 years, suspended; 3 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2 (changed by judge from Part 1)
Restrictions on freedoms unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 19 January 2021, Kamchatka Regional Court

Yelizovo District Court
25 September 2020
17) Konstantin Aleksandrovich Bazhenov (born 24 July 1977) – 2 years, suspended; 3 years' probation; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
18) Snezhana Yevgenyevna Bazhenova (20 December 1977) – 2 years, suspended; 3 years' probation; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
19) Vera Ivanovna Zolotova (born 20 October 1946) – 2 years, suspended; 3 years' probation; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2 (changed from Part 1 by judge)
Appeal: unsuccessful – 17 November 2020, Kamchatka Regional Court

- Kemerovo Region

Beryozovsky City Court
10 September 2020
20) Khasan Abduvaitovich Kogut (born 7 May 1983) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation
Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful, 23 December 2020 – Kemerovo Regional Court

Zavodsky District Court
22 June 2021
21) Aleksandr Iosifovich Bondarchuk (born 13 July 1974) – 4 years, suspended; 4 years' probation
22) Sergey Nikolayevich Yavushkin (4 August 1960) – 4 years, suspended; 4 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2; 282.3, Part 1
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Khabarovsk Region

Railway District Court, Khabarovsk
18 February 2020
23) Yevgeny Anatolyevich Aksyonov (born 19 June 1967) – 2 years, suspended; 6 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 26 May 2020, Khabarovsk Regional Court

4 February 2020
24) Stanislav Viktorovich Kim (born 5 July 1968) – 2 years, suspended; 2 years' probation
25) Nikolay Yuryevich Polevodov (born 10 February 1970) – 2 years, suspended; 2 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 2 July 2020, Khabarovsk Regional Court

Central District Court, Komsomolsk-on-Amur
4 June 2021
26) Nikolay Gennadyevich Aliyev (born 7 October 1978) – 4 years and 6 months, suspended; 1 year and 2 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 1.1, 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Kostroma Region

Sverdlovsk District Court
9 October 2020
27) Sergey Alekseyevich Rayman (born 5 October 1996) – 8 years, suspended; 5 years' probation; 2 years' restrictions on freedom
28) Valeriya Aleksandrovna Rayman (born 21 May 1993) – 7 years, suspended; 5 years' probation; 2 years' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 1; 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: partially successful (Part 2 convictions upheld but Part 1 convictions overturned and suspended sentences reduced to 3 years (plus 9 months' restrictions on freedom) for Sergey and 2 years (plus 6 months' restrictions on freedom) for Valeriya, with two years' probation for both) – 26 February 2021, Kostroma Regional Court

- Kursk Region

Promyshlenny District Court, Kursk
3 June 2021
29) Aleksandr Sergeyevich Vospitanyuk (born 18 November 1979) – 2 years, suspended;
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unknown

(Tried alongside Andrey Andreyev, Andrey Ryshkov, Artyom Bagratyan, and Alevtina Bagratyan, who all received prison sentences.)

- Mari El Republic

Gornomariysky District Court
31 May 2021
30) Yekaterina Gennadyevna Pegasheva (born 4 September 1989) – 6 years and 6 months, suspended; 4 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Moscow Region

Chekhov City Court
24 May 2021
31) Yury Alekseyevich Krutyakov (born 16 July 1952) – 6 years, suspended; 5 years' probation
32) Zinaida Valentinovna Krutyakova (born 6 May 1958) – 2 years and 3 months, suspended; 2 years' probation
33) Vitaly Sergeyevich Nikiforov (born 13 February 1968) – 2 years, suspended; 2 years' probation
34) Konstantin Petrovich Zherebtsov (born 26 August 1973) – 2 years and 2 months, suspended; 2 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1, 282.2, Part 1.1 (Krutyakov); 282.2, Part 2 (other three)
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Nizhny Novgorod Region

Prioksky District Court, Nizhny Novgorod
5 March 2021
35) Sergey Vitalyevich Verkhoturov (born 9 December 1974) – 6 years, suspended; 4 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 16 June 2021, Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court

- Novosibirsk Region

Lenin District Court, Novosibirsk
21 May 2021
36) Vitaly Yuryevich Popov (born 23 February 1967) – 3 years, suspended
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 2; 282.3, Part 1
Probationary period and restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Omsk Region

Pervomaysky District Court, Omsk
30 November 2020
37) Gaukhar Magauinovna Bektimirova (born 1 January 1976) – 2 years and 3 months, suspended;
38) Dinara Khayrollayevna Dyusekeyeva (born 24 October 1982) – 2 years, suspended;
39) Anastasiya Andreyevna Polyakova (born 25 May 1984) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary periods and restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 28 May 2021, Omsk Regional Court

(The three women were convicted alongside Anastasiya Polyakova's husband Sergey Polyakov, who received a three-year prison sentence.)

- Perm Region

Industrial District Court, Perm
12 May 2021
40) Boris Ivanovich Burylov (born 8 April 1941) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation; 10 months' restrictions on freedom;
41) Aleksandr Valeryevich Inozemtsev (born 13 July 1972) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation; 10 months' restrictions on freedom;
42) Viktor Aleksandrovich Kuchkov (born 28 June 1967) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation; 10 months' restrictions on freedom;
43) Igor Valeryevich Turik (born 25 June 1968) – 7 years, suspended; 4 years' probation; 5-year ban on leadership of religious associations; 18 months' restrictions on freedom;
44) Yury Vladimirovich Vaag (born 21 August 1975) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 3 years' probation; 10 months' restrictions on freedom;
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 1, 282.3, Part 1 (Turik); 282.2, Part 2 (other four – Burylov and Kuchov reclassified from Part 1)
Appeal: unknown

- Primorye Region

Nadezhdinsky District Court

21 January 2020
45) Grigory Gennadyevich Bubnov (born 4 September 1965) – 6 years, suspended; 5 years' probation; 5-year ban on involvement in public organisations + 1-year ban on going to public events
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 18 March 2020, Primorye Regional Court

15 March 2021
46) Vladimir Viktorovich Filippov (born 24 March 1943) – 6 years, suspended; 4 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 14 May 2021, Primorye Regional Court

19 May 2021
47) Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Shut (born 22 November 1947) – 4 years, suspended; 3 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: due to take place on 30 June 2021, Primorye Regional Court

- Penza Region

Lenin District Court, Penza / Penza Regional Court
13 December 2019 / 16 September 2020
48) Vladimir Aleksandrovich Alushkin (30 June 1964) – 4 years, suspended
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Probationary period and restrictions on freedom unknown
49) Tatyana Sergeyevna Alushkina (born 12 September 1963) – 2 years, suspended
50) Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kulyasov (born 17 April 1974) – 2 years, suspended
51) Andrey Aleksandrovich Magliv (20 June 1984) – 2 years, suspended
52) Galiya Anvarovna Olkhova (born 5 February 1970) – 2 years, suspended
53) Denis Vladimirovich Timoshin (born 23 March 1980) – 2 years, suspended
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary periods and restrictions on freedom unknown

Originally convicted on 13 December 2019 – Vladimir Alushkin sentenced to six years' imprisonment, the other five given suspended sentences.
Verdict overturned on appeal at Penza Regional Court on 25 March 2020 and case sent for re-trial, but new proceedings halted by successful prosecution cassational appeal at 1st Cassational Court in Saratov.
Fresh appeal hearing on 16 September 2020 at Penza Regional Court, at which the original suspended sentences were upheld and Alushkin's six year prison term changed to a four year suspended sentence.

- Pskov Region

Pskov Regional Court
3 August 2020
54) Gennady Valerianovich Shpakovsky (born 6 October 1958) – 6 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years' probation
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 1; 282.3, Part 1
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Originally convicted on 9 June 2020 at Pskov City Court and sentenced to 6 years and 6 months' imprisonment – sentence reduced on appeal to a suspended sentence of the same length.

- Rostov Region

Lenin District Court, Rostov-on-Don
17 December 2020
55) Ruslan Ramizovich Alyyev (born 21 June 1987) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 2 years and 6 months' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 1 March 2021, Rostov Regional Court

21 December 2020
56) Semyon Olegovich Baybak (born 14 May 1997) – 3 years and 6 months, suspended; 4 years and 6 months' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2; 282.3, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 29 March 2021, Rostov Regional Court

26 January 2021
57) Galina Vasilyevna Parkova (born 3 November 1970) – 2 years and 3 months, suspended; 2 years and 3 months' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unsuccessful – 22 March 2021, Rostov Regional Court

18 May 2021
58) Lyudmila Ivanovna Ponomarenko (born 11 May 1950) – 2 years, suspended
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary period and restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Sakha Republic (Yakutiya)

Lensk District Court
1 April 2020
59) Igor Nikolayevich Ivashin (born 16 April 1976) – 6 years, suspended; 3 years and 6 months' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom; 5-year ban on holding leadership positions in any public organisation
Criminal Code Article: Article 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 21 May 2020, Supreme Court of the Sakha Republic

- Smolensk Region

Promyshlenny District Court, Smolensk
23 April 2021
60) Yevgeny Vladimirovich Deshko (born 7 May 1989) – 6 years, suspended; 4 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom plus 3-year ban on holding positions of responsibility in religious organisations;
61) Ruslan Nikolayevich Korolyov (born 8 August 1982) – 6 years and 6 months, suspended; 5 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom plus 4-year ban on holding positions of responsibility in religious organisations;
62) Valery Anatolyevich Shalev (born 23 September 1977) – 6 years and 6 months, suspended; 5 years' probation; 1 year's restrictions on freedom plus 4-year ban on holding positions of responsibility in religious organisations
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: due to take place on 6 July 2021, Smolensk Regional Court

The three men were taken to court alongside Viktor Ivanovich Malkov (21 February 1959 – 26 April 2020), who died before proceedings had begun; according to the court website, the case against him was closed, but it remains unclear whether he is legally considered to have been found guilty. It is technically possible in Russia – though rare – to be tried and convicted posthumously.

Sychyovka District Court
22 April 2021
63) Natalya Igoryevna Sorokina (born 12 March 1975) – 6 years, suspended; 3 years' probation
64) Mariya Vladimirovna Troshina (born 13 February 1977) – 6 years, suspended; 3 years' probation
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Restrictions on freedom unknown
Appeal: unknown

- Ulyanovsk Region

Zasviyazhsky District Court, Ulyanovsk
8 October 2020
65) Sergey Aleksandrovich Mysin (born 21 June 1965) – 4 years, suspended; 10 months' restrictions on freedoms

On 21 January 2021 the prosecution succeeded in reversing a lower court's 8 October 2020 decision to at sentencing change Sergey Mysin's crime from Criminal Code Article 282.2 Part 1 ("organising") to Part 2 ("participation"). After the January 2021 reversal of that decision, Mysin's suspended sentence was increased from 4 years to 4 years and 6 months.

Mysin had been discharged early from intensive care in October 2019 after FSB security service officers went to the hospital to insist on his treatment being stopped.

66) Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich Ganin (born 8 January 1957) – 3 years, suspended; 8 months' restrictions on freedom
67) Khoren Nikolevich Khachikyan (born 25 April 1985) – 3 years, suspended; 8 months' restrictions on freedom
68) Andrey Vladimirovich Tabakov (born 23 January 1973) – 3 years, suspended; 8 months' restrictions on freedom
69) Natalya Aleksandrovna Mysina (born 17 December 1971) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 7 months' restrictions on freedom
70) Mikhail Grigoryevich Zelensky (born 7 November 1960) – 2 years and 6 months, suspended; 7 months' restrictions on freedom
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Probationary periods: from 2 years and 6 months to 4 years
Appeal: by defence, unsuccessful – 29 January 2021, Ulyanovsk Regional Court.

FINES

- Ivanovo Region

Furmanovo City Court
28 July 2020
1) Yevgeny Andreyevich Spirin (born 24 February 1986) – 700,000 Roubles (reduced to 500,000 to account for time spent in detention)
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 14 October 2020, Ivanovo Regional Court

- Kamchatka Region

Vilyuchinsk City Court
14 February 2020
2) Mikhail Yuryevich Popov (born 25 May 1962) – 350,000 Roubles
3) Yelena Vyacheslavovna Popova (born 10 September 1963) – 300,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1 and 282.2, Part 1.1 – but changed to Part 2 by judge at sentencing
Appeal: partially successful – conviction upheld but fines reduced from 650,000 Roubles in total to 500,000 Roubles in total - 17 March 2020, Kamchatka Regional Court

- Khabarovsk Region

Khabarovsk Regional Court
5 November 2019
4) Valery Vasilyevich Moskalenko (born 15 April 1967) – 500,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Originally convicted on 2 September 2019 at Railway District Court, Khabarovsk, and sentenced to 2 years and 2 months of assigned work with 6 months' restrictions on freedom – sentence reduced to fine on appeal and waived because of time spent in detention

- Kirov Region

October District Court, Kirov
23 October 2020
5) Anatoly Mikhailovich Tokarev (born 31 December 1958) – 500,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Articles: 282.2, Part 1 and 282.3, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 14 January 2021, Kirov Regional Court

- Krasnoyarsk Region

Soviet District Court, Krasnoyarsk
7 June 2018
6) Andrei Nikolayevich Dedkov (born 16 June 1979 - Muslim) – 250,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1
Appeal by Dedkov: none
Prosecution appeal against fine for "excessive leniency" and for five year jail term rejected on 2 October 2018.

Sverdlovsk District Court
1 October 2018
7) Andrei Gennadyevich Rekst (born 14 March 1994 - Muslim) – 125,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: none

Minusinsk City Court
2 June 2021
8) Dmitry Anatolyevich Maslov (born 7 September 1976) – 450,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unknown

- Murmansk Region

Polyarny District Court
24 January 2020
9) Roman Nikolayevich Markin (born 18 March 1974) – 300,000 Roubles (reduced from 600,000 Roubles to account for time spent in detention)
10) Viktor Fyodorovich Trofimov (born 26 March 1957) – 350,000 Roubles (reduced from 650,000 Roubles to account for time spent in detention)
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 1
Appeal: unsuccessful – 25 May 2020, Murmansk Regional Court

- Oryol Region

Oryol District Court
1 April 2019
11) Sergey Vladimirovich Skrynnikov (born 30 October 1962) – 350,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 13 June 2019, Oryol Regional Court

- Perm Region

Ordzhonikidze District Court, Perm

4 July 2019
12) Aleksandr Vasilyevich Solovyov (born 13 February 1970) – 300,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 5 September 2019, Perm Regional Court

14 November 2019
13) Aleksey Aleksandrovich Metsger (born 8 September 1975) – 350,000 Roubles
Criminal Code Article: 282.2, Part 2
Appeal: unsuccessful – 13 January 2020, Perm Regional Court

(END)

Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia

For more background see Forum 18's survey of the general state of freedom of religion and belief in Russia, as well as Forum 18's survey of the dramatic decline in this freedom related to Russia's Extremism Law

A personal commentary by Alexander Verkhovsky, Director of the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis https://www.sova-center.ru, about the systemic problems of Russian anti-extremism legislation

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

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