Samara Regional Court

Samara Regional Court

Samara Regional Court

Unjust Verdicts

Appeal in Samara Upholds the Conviction of Aleksandr Dolganov — Three Years in Prison for Faith in Jehovah God

Samara Region

On September 27, 2024, the panel of judges of the Samara Regional Court agreed with the decision of the first instance in the case of Aleksandr Dolganov. Although the term of punishment for the believer, 35, remained the same, the appeal counted the time under house arrest against the punishment at the rate of 1 day of house arrest for 1 day of colony. According to this decision, Dolganov should serve his sentence a month and a half earlier.

Earlier, the Avtozavodskiy District Court of the city of Tolyatti considered it a crime for Dolganov to hold services of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the believer, this contradicts the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, so he appealed the verdict. Addressing the panel of judges, Dolganov said: "Bible principles taught me to be a kind, caring, patient person. I have a strong marriage; I took care of my beloved wife. I officially worked for the benefit of society, helped neighbors regardless of their faith... I was sentenced to three years in a penal colony for correction. What do I need to correct myself?"

The believer's lawyer emphasized: "During the consideration of the case by the court of first instance, it was reliably established that there was no extremism in the actions of the convict. This was confirmed by both expert opinions and the testimonies of witnesses, and this is clearly seen from the video recordings of the services examined by the court of first instance." The judge of the first instance, Anna Tokareva, nevertheless drew the following conclusion: "The absence in the expert conclusions of statements calling for or justifying the commission of unlawful actions ... does not question the presence of Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the actions of the defendant."

In the Samara region, five other Jehovah's Witnesses were sentenced to long prison terms for their faith on similar charges.

The Case of Dolganov in Tolyatti

Case History
In May 2023, in Tolyatti, officers of the Investigative Committee and the FSB broke into the homes of four families of believers with searches. A criminal case was opened against Aleksandr Dolganov for his faith. After interrogation, he was placed under house arrest for 85 days, and then under a ban on certain actions. In July 2023, the case went to court. The prosecution was based on the testimony of two witnesses who collaborated with the investigation. One of them, who secretly filmed the services, admitted that she did not know the defendant personally, but had a negative attitude towards Jehovah’s Witnesses. Also at the trial, it turned out that the specialists who conducted the psychological and religious examination did not have the necessary qualifications. In April 2024, the court sentenced Aleksandr to 3 years in prison. In the courtroom, he was taken into custody and placed in a pre-trial detention center. In September, an appeal upheld the court’s decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Dolganov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Samara Region
Locality:
Tolyatti
Court case number:
12302360032000240
Initiated:
May 15, 2023
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Central Interdistrict Investigation Department for the City of Tolyatti of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-72/2024 (1-978/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Автозаводский районный суд г. Тольятти
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Анна Токарева
Case History