Unjust Verdicts

An Appeal in Khabarovsk Reduced Yegor Baranov's Term by Six Months. The Believer Was Given a Four-and-a-Half-Year Suspended Sentence<br>

Khabarovsk Territory

On March 1, 2023, the Khabarovsk Territorial Court reduced Yegor Baranov's suspended sentenceby six months—now the believer will have to serve a four-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for talking about the Bible. The decision has entered into force. It can be appealed in the cassation procedure.

The basis of the accusations of extremism was the testimonies of witnesses, which either totally or partially did not correspond to reality. Other witnesses were subjected to psychological pressure. Also, during the investigation, the facts were falsified more than once. While considering evidence of Baranov's guilt in court, passages from the Bible were read on how to build relationships with others, how to strengthen the family and how to show respect for the authorities.

The ruling of the ECHR dated June 7, 2022, which fully justified Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, states that “the right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under the Convention excludes any discretion on the part of the State to determine whether religious beliefs or the means used to express such beliefs are legitimate”.

Case of Baranov and Li in Vyazemskiy

Case History
Yen Sen Li became a victim of religious repression in May 2020. The old age of the believer did not deter the security forces from displaying inhumane treatment: during the search, the elderly Jehovah’s Witness was hit in the stomach and his arms were twisted behind his back; afterward, he was kept for 13 hours in the FSB Directorate building in the Khabarovsk Territory. On the same day, student Yegor Baranov was detained. The court sent him to a pre-trial detention center, where he was kept for six months. While in detention, Baranov was deprived of the right to send and receive letters. Later on, the court seized Li’s car. In January 2021, the case went to trial. A year later, Yen Sen Li died of covid, never having restored his good name. In April 2022, the prosecutor requested six years in a penal colony for Yegor Baranov. In June 2022, the court gave the believer a five-year suspended sentence, and an appeal reduced this term to four and a half years.
Timeline

Persons in case

Baranov
Yegor
Li
Yen Sen

Criminal case

Region:
Khabarovsk Territory
Locality:
Vyazemsky
Court case number:
12007080001000035
Initiated:
May 26, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of the Russian Federation for the Khabarovsk Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-4/2022 (1-52/2021)
Court:
Vyazemskiy District Court of the Khabarovsk Territory
Judge:
Ksenia Matviyevskaya
Case History
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