Appeal in Moscow Toughens the Punishment for One of Jehovah's Witnesses. The Terms for Two Other Believers Remain Intact

On October 3, 2024, the verdict against Anatoliy Marunov, Sergey Tolokonnikov and Roman Mareyev came into force. At the same time, the Moscow City Court added two months to Tolokonnikov's term. Three believers received from four and a half to six and a half years in prison.

"The court criminalized the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses," the believers' lawyer said in the appeal. "The result was that the court declared the peaceful and socially harmless practice of religion a crime."

Roman Mareyev stressed that the decision of the first instance violates Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religion. He also noted: "The court did not establish the presence of motives of religious hatred or enmity in my actions, and did not establish against which specific social group I acted... The prosecution did not claim that I incited violence or religious hatred and enmity ... I consider all the conclusions of the verdict to be not based on facts and pursuing their goal to deprive peaceful believers, Jehovah's Witnesses, of their liberty."

Due to his imprisonment, Roman Mareyev cannot take care of his parents - his mother and father have disabilities of groups III and II; his father moves on crutches after two heart attacks. Sergey Tolokonnikov lost his job, where he had a reputation as a respected employee.

In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling stating: "The Russian Federation, as a respondent state, must take all necessary measures to ensure the discontinuation of all pending criminal proceedings against Jehovah's Witnesses."