July 1, 2024
By F18News
By Victoria Arnold
RUSSIA: Further Jail Term For Answering Fellow Prisoners’ Questions About Faith
Jehovah’s Witness prisoner of conscience Dmitry Terebilov, who has been serving a sentence in a strict-regime labour camp (penal colony) in Kostroma Region, is currently on trial again for having answered questions about his faith from a fellow prisoner. The camp administration has recordings of his conversations. If found guilty, he could receive a further sentence of several years, on top of his present 3-year term.
There have so far been seven hearings, all postponed or adjourned for a variety of reasons. Terebilov is next due to appear in court on 8 August.
Investigators charged 44-year-old Terebilov with “Inclination, recruitment or other involvement of a person in an extremist organisation” (Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1.1) and “Participating in a banned extremist organisation” (Article 282.2, Part 2) in December 2023 when he was already jailed (see below).
Although several other Jehovah’s Witnesses have been subject to multiple prosecutions, these investigations and trials have generally overlapped. Terebilov appears to be the first person to be prosecuted for an incident unrelated to the activity which led to his first conviction, and which took place well after the conclusion of his previous case, when he was already imprisoned (see below).
“The only reason for [the initiation of the case] was the fact that the believer answered his cellmate’s questions about Jehovah’s Witness beliefs”, the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses noted on 21 June 2023, shortly after it became known that Terebilov was under investigation.