Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

New Criminal Case and Searches on Sakhalin. Believers Suspected for Discussing the Bible

Sakhalin Region

On August 22, 2023, searches were carried out in at least two addresses in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and in the port city of Korsakov. Four people were detained for interrogation, after which law enforcement officers released them.

Early in the morning, law enforcement officers knocked on the door of Roman Gumenyuk, 39, and his wife. The believers opened the door, after which Sergey Nevidimov, senior investigator of the Korsakov Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Sakhalin Region, showed them the warrant for a search as part of a criminal case initiated under Article 282.2(2) of the RF CrC (participating in the activity of an extremist organization). The search took place in the presence of an armed law enforcement officer, a technical specialist and two attesting witnesses. Flash drives, laptops, tablets, as well as personal notes were seized from the believers. A search was also conducted in the car from which a phone was seized.

That same morning, law enforcement officers attended the home of the couple Yegor and Vera Bayevskiy. All electronic devices and storage media, a webcam, and a digital photo frame were seized. The search was led by senior investigator Marina Bykova. Law enforcement officers behaved respectfully, but they did not respond when Bayevskiy's wife complained of feeling ill and requested an ambulance be called.

In both cases, the searches lasted approximately 2 hours. Then the believers were taken to the Korsakov Investigative Department and interrogated.

Five believers from the Sakhalin Region have already received suspended sentences for their beliefs.

The Case of Gumenyuk in Korsakov

Case History
The home of Roman Gumenyuk was searched and he was interrogated in August 2023. A month earlier, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against him under the article for participating in the activity of an extremist organization. This is how the investigation interpreted conducting conversations on Bible topics via videoconferencing. In May 2024, the believer was prosecuted under another article, charging him with involving others in the activity of an extremist organization. The case went to court a month later. Roman Gumenyuk is a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness. In Soviet times, his father was sentenced to 3 years for his religious beliefs, but was later rehabilitated as a victim of political repression. In November 2024, Roman was given a 5-year suspended sentence with restriction of freedom for 2 years and a 3-year probation period. In January 2025, the court of appeal upheld this verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Gumenyuk
Roman

Criminal case

Region:
Sakhalin Region
Locality:
Korsakov
Suspected of:
"by unidentified technical means in the format of videoconferencing in unidentified places... took part in regular meetings, during which he promoted extremist ideology" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case)
Court case number:
12302640018000051
Initiated:
March 19, 2023
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Korsakovskiy Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Sakhalin Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-261/2024
Court of First Instance:
Korsakov City Court
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Marina Zelenina
Case History
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