A Believer from the Krasnoyarsk Territory Received a Three-Year Suspended Sentence for Praying to Jehovah God

On December 26, 2024, Irina Ivanova, judge of the Nazarovsky City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, found 60-year-old Pavel Chemrov guilty of extremism for saying prayers and reading religious literature. He was sentenced to 3 years of suspended sentence.

The believer insists on his innocence and can appeal the verdict in higher instances. In his final statement, he explained to the court that his "intention is for people to treat each other with love, kindness, respect and mercy, to always remain calm and to rely on God."

The Investigative Committee for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia has been monitoring Pavel Chemrov since 2018. Later, in December 2023, a criminal case was opened against the man for participating in the activities of an extremist organization. His house was searched. The believer was interrogated and released on recognizance agreement. In June 2024, the case went to court. Prosecution witnesses did not corroborate any of the prosecutor's allegations. One woman said during the interrogation that she had heard "only good" things from Chemrov. Despite this, the prosecutor requested 3.5 years in a general regime colony for the believer.

During the hearings, Chemrov drew the court's attention to the fact that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not prohibit Jehovah's Witnesses from continuing to practice their religion individually or jointly. He added: "It is insulting to expect that after the liquidation of a legal entity ... Believers... can conduct worship services exclusively within the framework of other religious directions, which in fact means for them a renunciation of faith and nullifies the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation."

In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, another 30 Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted for their faith. Five of them are serving their sentences in penal colonies.