PROSECUTOR APOLOGIZES TO JEHOVAH'S WITNESS ZALIPAEV
The prosecutor of the Maisky district of Kabardino-Balkaria sent to the leader of the religious congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Yury Zalipaev, official apologies for a baseless criminal prosecution. This is the first such instance since the time of the ban on the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
As Kavkazskii Uzel has written, in October 2020, the Maisky court in Kabardino-Balkaria acquitted Yury Zalipaev, who had been charged with calls for extremism. The prosecutor, who requested for him two years in a penal colony settlement, appealed this decision, but the Supreme Court of the republic also took Zalipaev's side and granted to him the right to rehabilitation.
Zalipaev was accused of speaking disparagingly about Muslims and Orthodox during Jehovah's Witnesses' services, calling for beating them. In addition, according to the prosecution's account, Zalipaev distributed religious literature that is on the Federal List of Forbidden Materials. Zalipaev himself declared that he was unable to say what he was accused of.
Zalipaev's lawyer, Anton Omelchenko, reported today to a Kavkazskii Uzel correspondent that a letter arrived from the prosecutor's office with official apologies. "In accordance with the requirements of part 1 of article 136 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the RF, I convey to you official apologies for the harm caused," the letter says, over the signature of the prosecutor of the region, Lukianenko. The letter is dated 25 February.
This is the first instance in three years of an official statement of apologies to a Jehovah's Witness on the part of the state, Omelchenko pointed out. "However I would hope not for apologies. I would hope that there would be no unjust persecution at all. I am thankful to those who facilitate this goal, guided by justice in each individual case," the lawyer said.
There has not been a single apology since the
ban on the
activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017, a representative of the
European
Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, Yaroslav Sivulsky, emphasized.
"The
fact that the prosecutor apologized means that he is following the
letter of
the law and acting professionally. We welcome that fact," he told
a
Kavkazskii Uzel correspondent. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 March 2021)
Background:
Jehovah's Witness triumphs in high court
over prosecution
January 25, 2021
Prosecutor tries to
overturn victory of Jehovah's Witness in south of Russia
January 23, 2101
Jehovah's Witness walks free in south of
Russia
October 7, 2020
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