Statistics and Overview

The 100th Jehovah's Witness Has Been Sent Behind Bars in Russia: Dmitriy Dolzhikov, 44, Is in a Novosibirsk Pre-Trial Detention Center

Novosibirsk Region,   Chelyabinsk Region

As of September 30, 2022, 95 men and 5 women professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses are behind bars. Of these, 32 are in the penal colony and 68 in the pre-trial detention centers. Dmitriy Dolzhikov, arrested after a raid on Jehovah's Witnesses in Chelyabinsk, became the 100th prisoner.

On May 13, 2020, A. Bryuzgin, investigator of the Investigative Committee of the RF Investigative Committee for the Novosibirsk Region, opened a case against Dolzhikov. Two years later, the believer was detained in Chelyabinsk, and then placed in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Novosibirsk region. The search at Dmitriy's place of residence in Chelyabinsk was authorized by investigator A. Chepenko, who is known for the criminal persecution of believers in the Chelyabinsk region.

Dolzhikov is charged with Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, because he allegedly “intentionally, out of extremist motives, took part in the activities of a religious association . . . in the form of participation in religious meetings and meetings of an extremist organization, conducting conversations . . . demonstrations and watching educational videos.”

While there are simultaneously 100 people in custody, another 249 of Jehovah's Witnesses have been to prisons and pre-trial detention centers, some of whom have spent more than five years behind bars. Information about these people, including their criminal prosecution history, can be found at jw-russia.org under "Prisoners of Conscience" using a filter system. A total of 643 people have been criminally persecuted for believing in Jehovah God.

What is happening to Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is of concern to the international community. For example, on September 28, 2022, the OSCE held a conference in Poland to discuss religious freedom and protection of human rights. The speakers drew attention to the fact that "Russia's actions against... Jehovah's Witnesses... include raids, arrests, long prison sentences, and probably torture.”

The Case of Dolzhikov in Novosibirsk

Case History
In May 2020, Dmitriy Dolzhikov became one of the defendants in a criminal case for his faith, which was initiated by the Investigative Committee for the Novosibirsk Region. When the believer moved to another region, his case was made into a separate proceeding. His new place of residence was searched in September 2022. Dolzhikov was interrogated and then taken back to Novosibirsk, where he was placed in a pretrial detention center for 2.5 months. The believer was under house arrest from November 2022. The court began hearing his case in December of the same year. The case involved the testimony of a secret witness and two Orthodox activists-“anti-sectarians”, and many of the materials in the case did not relate to Dolzhikov, but other believers. In June 2023, the court sentenced Dmitriy to 3 years in a penal colony and 1 year restriction of freedom, which was replaced with forced labor. In September 2023, the court of appeal upheld this decision. Since November, Dmitriy has been in the correctional center at IK-9 in Novosibirsk, where he was assigned to work as a shoemaker at a city enterprise.
Timeline

Persons in case

Dolzhikov
Dmitriy

Criminal case

Region:
Novosibirsk Region
Locality:
Novosibirsk
Suspected of:
suspected in: "deliberately, out of extremist motives, took part in the activity of a religious association... by participating in religious meetings and meetings of an extremist organization, having conversations... presentations and viewing of training videos"
Court case number:
42002500019000013
Initiated:
May 13, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Novosibirsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-51/2023 (1-737/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Leninskiy District Court of Novosibirsk
Judge:
Olga Kovalenko
Case History
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