The Court of Cassation Again Rejected the Appeal Against the Verdict of Svetlana Monis From Birobidzhan. She Will Continue to Serve Her Suspended Sentence

 RUSSIA


The Court of Cassation Again Rejected the Appeal Against the Verdict of Svetlana Monis From Birobidzhan. She Will Continue to Serve Her Suspended Sentence

October 20, 2023 Jewish Autonomous Region


On October 18, 2023, the Ninth Court of Cassation of Vladivostok confirmed the verdict and decision of the appellate instance against Svetlana Monis, 46, — 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment.


This is the second hearing in the Ninth Court of Cassation in Vladivostok. In 2019, Monis was accused of extremism for reading the Bible together with friends, singing religious songs, and saying prayers. The court of first instance imposed a fine. The appeal toughened the sentence, but the court of cassation overturned this decision.


Then the cassation court indicated that the appellate instance should reconsider the case and take into account the the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 11, freedom of religion which is the norm in the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 28), as well as Note 2 to Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which extremism means, in particular, a crime "committed on the grounds of ... religious hatred or enmity." During the investigation and trial, no evidence of such actions on the part of Svetlana Monis was presented. Also, her activity does not correspond to the concept of extremism described in Article 1 of the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity".


Despite this, a new appeal returned the case to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which sentenced the believer to 2.5 years suspended sentence. A third appeal upheld this decision.


Now 23 Jehovah's Witnesses from the Jewish Autonomous Region have been prosecuted simply for their faith. Four of them, including Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev, are serving their sentences in a penal colony.


Case of Monis in Birobidzhan


Brief history of the case


In September 2019, a criminal case was opened against Svetlana Monis, a foreign language teacher. A year earlier, an investigator detained her husband, Alam Aliyev, during a massive FSB special operation in Birobidzhan. Monis, along with other believers, was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. For more than 16 months, the believer was under recognizance not to leave. In February 2021, the court imposed a fine on her. But three months later, an appeal toughened the sentence, giving the believer a suspended 2.5-year prison term. In December 2021, the court of cassation returned the case to the appeal stage, which, in turn, overturned the verdict and returned the case for a new trial. The result was a suspended sentence of 2.5 years. In 2023, the third appeal confirmed this decision; later, cassation left it unchanged.


Criminal case


Region:

Jewish Autonomous Region

Locality:

Birobidzhan

What is suspected:

according to the investigation, “she took direct part... in order to spread the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses... by improving the skills of preaching service and other religious activities”

Criminal case number:

11907990001000016

Initiated:

September 26, 2019

Current stage of the case:

verdict took effect

Investigates:

Investigative Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region

Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-297/2022

Court:

Birobidzhansky District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region

Judge:

Yulia Tsykina


In the photo: Alam Aliyev. November 2022

Svetlana Monis with her husband Alam Aliyev. November 2022

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