A court in the Khabarovsk Territory sentenced Lyubov Ovchinnikova and Lyubov Kocherova to 6 years of probation for their faith

 RUSSIA


A court in the Khabarovsk Territory sentenced Lyubov Ovchinnikova and Lyubov Kocherova to 6 years of probation for their faith

August 2, 2023 Khabarovsk Territory


On August 1, 2023, Khabarovsk District Court judge Angelina Sviderskaya found 64-year-old Lyubov Ovchinnikova and 65-year-old Lyubov Kocherova guilty of extremism. They were sentenced to 6 years in prison and 1 year and 6 months of suspended liberty with a probationary period of 3 years.


Before the announcement of the verdict, the prosecutor asked the court to send believers to a colony for 6 years. Speaking in the debate and with the last word, the defendants resolutely denied the guilt of extremism. Lyubov Ovchinnikova said: “I have nothing to do with violence and extremism. This is generally alien to my nature ... I adhere to the principle of love for my neighbor.


The case against pensioners from the village of Knyaz-Volkonskoye, Khabarovsk Territory, was opened by the Investigative Committee in May 2022. Prior to this, FSB officer Stanislav Martyn, who pretended to be interested in the Bible, communicated with women for two years. According to the investigation, these conversations should be regarded as involvement in the activities of a banned organization and participation in it.


During the hearings, the defendants stated that Martyn's actions were a provocation prohibited by Article 5 of the Law "On Investigative Activities". According to Kocherova, she took driving lessons from a man, during which he constantly asked her about the Bible. The believer explained: “There can be no question of any inclination [to any religious activity]. During the conversations, my goal was only one - to answer Martyn's questions. Lyubov Ovchinnikova also stated: “Kocherova and I did not persuade citizen Martyn to do anything, and did not recruit him ... We simply discussed the Bible with him at his own request.”


The believers also stressed that peaceful conversations about the Bible cannot be considered a crime. “The ban on legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses does not mean that after 2017 I was obliged to change my religion, stop studying the Bible and tell people what I myself learn from the Bible. Following the logic of the accusation, it turns out that if, for example, a garment factory was liquidated in a certain city, then all women in Russia are now prohibited from sewing, and any attempts to sew clothes for themselves or their friends will be regarded as illegal activities, ”Lubov explained. Kocherov.


The case of Kocherova and Ovchinnikova is connected with the case of their fellow villager Valery Rabota . It is considered by the same judge, and the accusation is based on the testimony of the same FSB agent Martyn.


To date, 172 women professing the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have faced criminal prosecution for their faith. Five of them are serving sentences in colonies, two believers are in pre-trial detention centers .


Case of Kocherova and Ovchinnikova in Knyaz-Volkonsky


Brief history of the case


Since April 2020, on the instructions of the FSB, one of the residents of the village of Knyaz-Volkonsky began to record conversations about the Bible with Lyubov Kocherova and Lyubov Ovchinnikova. Two years later, a criminal case was opened against the pensioners for allegedly recruiting and participating in the activities of an extremist organization. They were accused of "asking questions on religious topics related ... to the understanding of the Bible." In March 2023, the case went to court. In August 2023, Kocherova and Ovchinnikova were given a suspended sentence of 6 years in prison.


Criminal case


Region:

Khabarovsk Territory

Locality:

Knyaz-Volkonskoe

What is suspected:

“collectively performed religious songs, prayers, which are a product in the structure of the worldwide organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses” (from the decision to prosecute)

Case number:

12202080023000024

Initiated:

May 26, 2022

Current stage of the case:

trial in appellate court

Investigating:

SU SK for the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)

Case number in court:

1-215/2023

Court of First Instance:

Khabarovsk District Court of the Khabarovsk Territory

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Angelina Sviderskaya


In the photo: Lyubov Ovchinnikova and Lyubov Kocherova

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