RUSSIA COULD HOLD JUSTICE

[Bible Speaks]

RUSSIA COULD HOLD JUSTICE
On the dock Prokhladnensky City Court - 70-year-old Arkady H. Hakobyan, who worked all his life with his own hands, running in Cool (Kabardino-Balkaria) for the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Arcadio H. - Jehovah's Witness for the Faith, for which he is now being prosecuted under the article "Extremism" (Part 1, Article 282 of the Criminal Code ..).

The persecution based on the testimony of five prosecution witnesses, who, although they are not followers of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, claiming that they were allegedly on behalf of Akobián massively distributed publications of Jehovah's Witnesses visited only once to several meetings religious (which is unlikely in itself). In addition, these people claim that during the Hakobyan service he gave a speech in which he criticized other religions. Previously, Hakobyan had appealed to the Russian Investigation Committee to subject these five witnesses to criminal responsibility for false testimony. However, an adequate verification of your request for a crime has not yet been carried out.

The court proceeded to consider the case on May 16, 2017. 9 volumes of the case were read and the witnesses of the accusation were questioned. The weakness of the evidence, the prosecutor called as witnesses, including the police, who did not see the facts that distribute the literature and did not attend religious services, but only participated in the operational actions of investigation against the believers. On January 10, 2018, the state prosecutor announced the end of the presentation of evidence.

On January 11, 30 and 31, 2018, the defense party presented its evidence to the court. The lawyers affirm that there was not the same fact of the crime, that is to say, Hakobyan did not deliver a speech on which the witnesses of the accusation spoke. It is interesting that the lawyers presented to the court information about the whereabouts of the mobile phones of the prosecution witnesses, and it turned out that none of them at that time was near the liturgical building. To justify themselves in some way, the prosedcution witnesses falsely claimed that the believers "were forbidden to bring mobile phones to worship," so they "did not take them with them." Naturally, lawyers could also present evidence to the court that there is no ban on mobile phones, that believing phones brought them to divine services and even broadcast a spiritual program for those who are sick. This served as additional proof of perjury. In addition, the prosecution witnesses incorrectly mentioned both the internal situation of the liturgical building and the composition of the religious groups in which the services were held. Finally, the court receives numerous testimonies that there were no such citizens in the cult.

Sonia Hakobyan, the defendant's wife, was questioned as a defense witness. Unlike Arkady Akopovich, she is not a baptized Jehovah's Witness. However, they have been in a happy marriage for about 40 years. The husband, when he became a Jehovah's Witness 25 years ago, never forced her or her children to change their religion. All this does not correspond to the accusation against "Hakobyan" in "extremism". Both the family and the neighbors, among whom people of different nationalities, cultures and religions, respect the Arcadians, know him as a kind and understanding person.

The hearing will continue in the Municipal Court of Prokhladnensky on February 20, 2018 at 10:00.

https://jw-russia.org/news/18020123-283.html