Vladimir Alushkin May Be Placed Under Arrest for the Third Time. Cassation Court Will Review the Appeal Decision to Overturn the Sentence

On July 9, 2020, the First Cassation Court of the Saratov Jurisdiction will be holding a hearing to review a complaint from the Prosecutor's Office. The complaint objects to the Appeals Court's overturned conviction of Vladimir Alushkin, a worshiper from the city of Penza. Depending on the Cassation Court's decision, Alushkin may be placed into custody once again.

In December, 2019 the court of first instance in Penza has sentenced Alushkin to six years of colony for faith. In March 2020, the regional court overturned this verdict and sent the case for a new trial to the same court with a new composition, while the believer was released from custody on a subscription not to leave the city. The prosecution disagreed with this and filed a cassation appeal. On July 9, 2020, it will be the first time that the Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction will review the sentence in the case against Jehovah's Witnesses. Previously, the Court of Cassation had only reviewed interim judgments, such as defendants' complaints about the precautionary measure or the court's refusal to grant a leniency application.

Alushkin has already been imprisoned twice for his faith. The first time he was sent to the pre-trial detention center in 2018, while his case was under investigation. He spent six months there and another 11 months under house arrest. When the Leninskiy District Court of Penza sentenced him to six years in prison for his faith, he was taken into custody in the courtroom and sent to another pre-trial detention facility for 291 days. He stayed there until the Penza regional court cancelled the wrongful conviction and sent the case for a new trial. Accordingly, if the cassation court reverses the decision of the Penza Regional Court, the believer will be taken into custody for the third time.

The decision of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, issued in October 2019, demonstrates the illegality of the verdict and sentence of six years in prison. This body found Vladimir Alushkin's arrest unlawful. The Working Group described what was happening with Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as "systemic and institutionalized persecution" (para. 65).

Courts of cassation are an innovation in Russian legal proceedings. They are the higher instance for appeal courts and review court decisions that have come into force on cassation appeals and on newly discovered circumstances. The general courts of cassation began their work on 1 October 2019. A total of 9 general courts of cassation have been established in Saratov, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar, Pyatigorsk, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Kemerovo and Vladivostok.