Vitaly Zhuk
- Criminal Code
- Article 282.2 part 1, Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Extremism casesCases against Jehovah's Witnesses
- Verdict
- Suspended prison sentence
- Sentence
- 7 years
- Date of verdict
- 2024-06-20
- Region
- Khabarovsk Krai
- City
- Khabarovsk
Case summary
Resident of Khabarovsk Krai. Detained during a raid on a cafe in Khabarovsk on 10 November 2018. On 12 November, he was taken into custody by court order on charges of organising the activities of an extremist organisation due to his involvement with the Jehovah's Witnesses community. Members of this community are prosecuted under extremist laws solely for their religious activities: meetings, joint worship services, and attracting new supporters.
On 14 January 2019, Zhuk was placed under house arrest. On 18 January 2020, he was released from house arrest. On 3 August, the case was returned to the prosecutor's office. On 20 June 2024, Zhuk was sentenced to eight years and four months in a general regime prison. On 10 October 2024, the appeal court commuted his sentence to a seven-year suspended sentence.
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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