Balkarian court acquits JW of charges as Russia places 6 on suspended sentence

KABARDINO-BALKARIAN REPUBLIC – The Mayskiy District Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic has acquitted Brother Yuriy Zalipayev, one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses of all charges.  

Yuriy Zalipayev was found not guilty  and consequently  acquitted of all charges. The prosecution had claimed that Brother Zalipayev was  inciting others to violence.

But during the hearing, over 30 people testified that he did nothing more than encourage others to read the Bible and to show warmth and kindness to all people.

The court’s “not guilty” ruling was also based on recent conclusions by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that confirmed that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not practice or promote violence in any manner.

After the verdict announcement, Brother Zalipayev stated: “My family and friends were all prepared for the worst. Thanks to Jehovah, I did not feel pressure during the trial. I am very happy and grateful to everyone who defended my innocence.”

The prosecution has ten days to appeal. Zalipayev was acquitted just as a Russian Court  placed  Six witnesses on Suspended Prison Sentences

The  Zasviyazhsky District Court of the City of Ulyanovsk convicted Brothers Aleksandr Ganin, Khoren Khachikyan, Andrey Tabakov, and Mikhail Zelenskiy, as well as Sergey Mysin and his wife, Nataliya.

They were issued suspended sentences with terms ranging from two years and six months to four years. “This means that our brothers and sister will not need to go to prison at this time”, the Jehovah’s Witnesses said on their website jw.org