Photo: Central District Court of Novosibirsk

Photo: Central District Court of Novosibirsk

Photo: Central District Court of Novosibirsk

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Mass Searches and a Criminal Case for Faith in Novosibirsk

Novosibirsk Region

On November 8, 2018, searches were conducted in Novosibirsk in at least 10 homes of civilians who were suspected of jointly practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. 64-year-old Yuriy Prokopievich Savelyev was arrested. By order of Maria Shishkina, judge of the Central District Court of Novosibirsk, he was sent to the pre-trial detention center until January 7, 2019.

Operational activities were led by the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia in the Novosibirsk Region. According to eyewitnesses, during the invasion of one of the apartments, where guests gathered at that time, law enforcement officers pointed the muzzle of a machine gun at civilians. In total, at least 19 people, including a young girl, suffered morally from the actions of law enforcement officers. During the searches, personal belongings were seized from citizens.

The events in Novosibirsk were a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, which imposed a ban on the activities of all registered legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses. The decision of the Supreme Court is appealed to the ECHR as a matter of priority. Meanwhile, dozens of human rights defenders, as well as the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, express concern about the growing religious repression.

Case of Savelyev in Novosibirsk

Case History
Six years in a penal colony—this was the harsh sentence that 66-year-old Yuri Savelyev from the city of Novosibirsk received for his faith. The man was arrested in November 2018 during searches in the homes of believers. He was in pre-trial detention until his sentencing in December 2020. The appellate court, and later the cassation court, upheld the verdict. In May 2021, Yuriy Savelyev was transferred to Penal Colony No. 5 in the city of Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory. In the colony, the administration, with no legitimate basis, tried to force the believer into treatment for alcoholism. On far-fetched grounds, the elderly man spent about nine months in harsh conditions of detention. Yuriy was released in July 2023.
Timeline

Persons in case

Savelyev
Yuriy

Criminal case

Region:
Novosibirsk Region
Locality:
Novosibirsk
Suspected of:
according to the investigation he unlawfully organised the activity of the religious organisation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Novosibirsk (with reference to the decision of the Russian Supreme Court on the liquidation of all 396 registered organisations of Jehovah’s Witnesses)
Court case number:
11802500019000098
Initiated:
November 7, 2018
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Novosibirsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-42/2020
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Novosibirsk
Case History
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