Aleksandr Davydenko is a political prisoner
A Jehovah’s Witness from the Krasnodar Krai was sent to a pretrial detention center in an extremism case
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Aleksandr Davydenko a political prisoner. He is being prosecuted under articles on participating in the activities of an extremist organization and involving others in it. Davydenko’s criminal case violates his right to freedom of religion. We demand that Aleksandr Davydenko be immediately released and his criminal prosecution stopped.
What were the charges against Aleksandr Davydenko?
The criminal prosecution of Aleksandr Davydenko from the village of Pavlovskaya in the Krasnodar Krai began in 2020.
On April 29, 2020, security forces detained the believer at work and took him home for a search.
During the search, which lasted 7 hours, electronic devices, personal records, money and bank cards were seized from Davydenko’s family. After interrogation at the FSB department, the believer was released home.
On April 18, 2024, it became known that Davydenko had been in pretrial detention for a month. He is accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and involving others in it (Part 1.1 and Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Why do we consider Davydenko a political prisoner?
On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia issued a decision recognizing the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia as an extremist organization.
We believe that charges brought solely on the basis that certain individuals, being Jehovah’s Witnesses, took part in rituals and meetings or distributed materials of this denomination are discriminatory and violate international legal norms, in particular the right to freedom of religion. The charge under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation directly boils down to the fact that the believer was a member of an organized religious group and is absolutely unlawful.
On June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights declared the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and the persecution of believers illegal.
The ECHR ruled that Russia violated the believers’ right to freedom of religion (Article 9 of the European Convention), freedom of expression (Article 10), freedom of assembly (Article 11), as well as the right to respect for property (Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention).
Recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply that the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with or approves of their views, statements, or actions.
How to help?
You can donate to help all political prisoners in Russia.
