A believer from the Krasnodar region has been convicted of extremism.

The Sovetsky District Court of Krasnodar sentenced Anatoly Yevtushenko to two years in prison, finding him to be a member of an extremist cell. During the court hearing, Yevtushenko pleaded not guilty and did not recant his beliefs.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in mid-December, the court sentenced Viktor Spirichev and Sergei Dvurechensky, residents of the Kuban village, to suspended sentences, finding them to be members of an extremist organization. Both Jehovah's Witnesses* denied the charges.

According to the court, Anatoly Yevtushenko, despite the fact that the "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses* in Russia" and the local religious organizations within it were recognized as extremist by a decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and their activities were liquidated, participated in collective religious events and services via videoconference: singing songs related to religious teachings, praying to Jehovah God, and studying the provisions of the book "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures"* (recognized as extremist literature), the press service of the courts of the Krasnodar Territory reported today on its Telegram channel.

At the court hearing, Yevtushenko did not plead guilty and did not renounce his beliefs, the press service clarified. Press Service.

The court found Yevtushenko guilty of participating in the activities of a banned extremist organization 1 and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, with a one-year ban on organizing or participating in public associations. The convicted man was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Back in October 2021, the plenary session of the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that individual or collective religious practice, religious rites, and ceremonies should not in themselves be considered the activities of an extremist organization unless they contain elements of extremism. However, in practice, state prosecutors ignore this decision, noted Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Earlier, in October 2020, a court in Kabardino-Balkaria acquitted local Jehovah's Witness* Yuri Zalipaev, who was accused of inciting extremism. In September 2021, the court awarded him 500,000 rubles in compensation, and the prosecutor apologized to the believer for the criminal prosecution. Acquittals for Jehovah's Witnesses* are rare in the Russian judicial system, Yaroslav Sivulsky commented on the court's decision at the time.

On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia, following a lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Justice, declared the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia* and its 395 branches extremist organizations, banning their activities. The "Caucasian Knot" covers the consequences of this ban on the thematic page "The Ministry of Justice against Jehovah's Witnesses*".

* 396 Russian Jehovah's Witness organizations have been designated as extremist, and their activities in Russia have been banned by court order.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.