Nikolay Saparov
- Criminal Code
- Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Extremism casesCases against Jehovah's Witnesses
- Verdict
- Imprisonment (general regime)
- Sentence
- 6 years
- Date of verdict
- 2024-01-17
- Region
- Adygea
- City
- Maykop
- Facility
- ФКУ «ИК № 5 УФСИН России по Санкт-Петербургу и Ленинградской области»
- Address for letters
- 196641, Санкт-Петербург,поселок Металлострой, Северный проезд, 1, ФКУ «ИК № 5 УФСИН России по Санкт-Петербургу и Ленинградской области», Сапаров Николай Владимирович, 1981 г.р.
Case summary
He was detained on the night of 23 March 2022 at Mineralnye Vody airport and taken into custody by court order the next day. Saparov later said that after his detention he was subjected to violence, including the use of a stun gun. On 6 May, the case went to court. On 17 January 2024, Saparov was sentenced to six years in a general regime colony on charges of involvement in the Jehovah's Witnesses community. Representatives of this community are prosecuted under extremist articles solely for religious activities: meetings, joint worship services, attracting new supporters.
Saparov told the court on 28 November that after his detention at Mineralnye Vody airport, law enforcers used violence against him, including the use of a stun gun. According to Saparov, they forced him into a car and took him about 300 kilometres away to a law enforcement department in Adygeya. On the way, the officers beat him and intimidated him into confessing guilt.
Others charged under Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
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Source: this person’s record in the OVD-Info political persecution database
Published under CC BY 3.0. The criteria for treating a person as politically persecuted belong to OVD-Info; FACTUM relays their assessment and makes none of its own.
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