Aleksandr Davydenko in a cage for defendants on the day of the verdict. February 2025

Aleksandr Davydenko in a cage for defendants on the day of the verdict. February 2025

Aleksandr Davydenko in a cage for defendants on the day of the verdict. February 2025

Unjust Verdicts

Court in Kuban Upheld Prison Sentence Against One of Jehovah's Witnesses for Discussing the Bible

Krasnodar Territory

Aleksandr Davydenko, 33, one of Jehovah's Witnesses from the village of Pavlovskaya, will be sent to a penal colony. On April 28, 2025, the Krasnodar Territory Court upheld the verdict against the believer. He attended the hearing via videoconference from the pretrial detention center.

The punishment imposed on Davydenko remained unchanged - 4 years and 2 months in a penal colony. Since the believer was in detention for a long time during the preliminary and judicial investigation, he will only have to spend about two years in the correctional institution.

Aleksandr denies being guilty of extremism. The believer emphasized that he was being prosecuted on far-fetched grounds, already before the court of first instance. "How could I cause danger to the state by reading the Bible?" Aleksandr expressed his bewilderment at one of the hearings and continued: "What evidence confirms that I was inciting religious hatred and enmity? We have listened to the audio recordings [of conversations about the Bible], and there is nothing like that on any of them."

In the Krasnodar Territory, 17 Jehovah's Witnesses received prison sentences for their faith, more than in any other region of Russia.

The Case of Davydenko in Pavlovskaya

Case History
In the spring of 2020, Aleksandr Davydenko from the village of Pavlovskaya came to the attention of law enforcement officers. He was suspected of extremism. His home and the home of his aunt, Lyudmila Shchekoldina, were searched, after which he was interrogated in the FSB building as a witness. After 3 years, in April 2023, a criminal case was initiated against him under articles on participating in the activity of an extremist organization and involving others in it. In September 2023, Aleksandr was detained and sent to a pretrial detention center. After 9 months, his case went to court. The proceedings were based on the testimony of Ilchenko, an undercover agent, who gave recordings of conversations with Davydenko about God to the FSB. In January 2025, the court found Davydenko guilty and sentenced him to 4 years and 2 months in a penal colony. This decision entered into force 3 months later.
Timeline

Persons in case

Davydenko
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnodar Territory
Locality:
Pavlovskaya
Suspected of:
"Held... a religious educational event — a lesson in the study of the "Holy Scriptures" (the Bible)... disseminated the religious beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses" (from the indictment)
Court case number:
12302030030000027
Initiated:
April 10, 2024
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-16/2025 (1-139/2024)
Court of First Instance:
Pavlovskiy District Court of the Krasnodar Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Lev Bogdanov
Case History
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