Jehovah’s Witnesses

For Immediate Release
November 10, 2010
(Russian)

Expression of Christian faith is basis for criminal prosecution in Russia

GORNO-ALTAYSK, Russia—The trial in the criminal case against Aleksandr Kalistratov, who was charged with inciting religious enmity under Article 282(1) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code, will resume in the Gorno-Altaysk City Court on November 15, 2010.

Initially the Kalistratov case was held from October 20 to 22, 2010. When the 37 witnesses for the prosecution who knew Kalistratov were questioned, they stated that he is a law-abiding citizen whom they respect and who has never been known to advocate the incitement of religious enmity. They were astonished that his actions could be considered “extremist,” since they had been helped to change their lives for the good as a result of his actions and the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Kalistratov explained: “My alleged ‘criminal’ activity is an expression of my faith.” He commented: “The bill of indictment does not indicate what specific actions I committed to incite hatred and enmity, so I do not understand the actual nature of the charges against me.” Explaining why the charges against Kalistratov are vague, Prosecutor Bulat Yaimov admitted: “Article 282 is vague, so it does not require that the charges be specific.”

Moreover, the proceedings revealed that the investigative agencies exceeded the bounds of their authority. Investigators had indiscriminately confiscated all the religious publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses found in the homes of several believers in the area and claimed that the publications were dangerous months before any court ruling declared some to be “extremist.” Some of the literature was confiscated without a search warrant or other procedural documents.

The misapplication of the extremist law to a member of an internationally known Christian faith sets a dangerous precedent against freedom of religion in Russia, and this case has therefore attracted considerable media attention. The Press Secretary of the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Grigory Martynov, announced: “On November 11, 2010, a press conference featuring the trial and analyzing the application of the Law on Counteracting Extremist Activity in the case of an individual will be held in the Independent Press Center in Moscow.”

Contacts:
In Russia: Grigory Martynov, tel. +7 812 702 2691
In Belgium: The European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015
In USA: J. R. Brown, tel. +1 718 560 5600