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 RUSSIA  The last word of the defendant Stanislav Kim in Khabarovsk June 20, 2024 Khabarovsk Territory Speaking with the last word in court, the believer spoke about the public benefits of Jehovah's Witnesses and stated: "The doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses helps law enforcement agencies through preventive and moral methods, but instead of thanking believers, people are tried and imprisoned." Transcript of the court session in the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk dated 06/20/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 on charges of Kim Stanislav Viktorovich and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Kim Stanislav Viktorovich: Your Honor, I would like to express my gratitude that you have provided sufficient time to defend against the charges against me. I thank my lawyers for their high-quality defense and for the opportunity to receive detailed legal advice. I thank my soulmate, my beloved wife Olesenka, who t...

 RUSSIA  Three Jehovah's Witnesses from Novocherkassk Sentenced to Up to Six and a Half Years in a Penal Colony for Their Beliefs June 27, 2024 Rostov Region On June 26, 2024, Nikolay Egorov, judge of the Novocherkassk City Court of the Rostov Region, sentenced Lubov Galitsina to 2 years and 3 months, Gevorg Yeritsyan to 6 years and 2 months, and Garegin Khachaturyan to 6.5 years in a penal colony. The court considered the term assigned to Galitsina to have already been served, she will remain at large. In August 2022, Investigative Committee investigator V. V. Bardakov opened a criminal case against three believers. The men were accused of organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and the woman was accused of participating in it. On the same day, their homes were searched. All three were interrogated and detained. The law enforcement officers considered the meetings for worship, which were held using the Zoom program, to be a continuation of the activities of the ...

 RUSSIA  Another Resident of the Bryansk Region Was Convicted for Her Faith. Yuliya Globa From Unecha Got a Two and a Half-Year Suspended Sentence June 27, 2024 Bryansk Region On June 25, 2024, Tatyana Postavneva, judge of the Unecha District Court of the Bryansk Region, found Yuliya Globa guilty of extremism. English teacher, 42, got a 2,5-year suspended sentence for practicing her religion. In May 2023, the Investigative Committee of the Bryansk Region opened a criminal case against the believer. The investigation considered the conversations with people about the Bible to be participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Prior to that, Yuliya and her husband Ernest had been searched three times. After 4.5 months of investigative actions the case went to court. Prosecution witnesses gave a positive assessment of Yuliya. An Orthodox priest, who also appeared in court as a witness, said he was not familiar with the accused and her activities. The expert, profess...

 RUSSIA Four Years Suspended for Faith in God. A Local Jehovah's Witness Sentenced in Gorno-Altaysk June 27, 2024 Altai On June 27, 2024, the court sentenced Sergey Petrenko, 45, to 4 years suspended with a probationary period of 3 years. Judge of the Mayminsky District Court Yelena Usoltseva considered attendance at peaceful worship services to be participation in the activities of an extremist organization. The criminal prosecution of Petrenko began in January 2022, when his house was searched. In July of the same year, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against the believer, separating the materials from the case of Aleksandr Kalistratov. Sergey Petrenko was accused of participating in the activities of a banned organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and was given a recognizance agreement. In December 2022, his superiors asked him to quit his job due to the fact that he was prosecuted, after...

 RUSSIA  For the First Time Since 2017, Jehovah's Witnesses Have Been Sentenced in Kalmykia: Three Women Received Suspended Sentences for Their Faith June 27, 2024 Kalmykia On June 24, 2024, Judge Aleksey Polevshchikov of the Elista City Court of the Republic of Kalmykia sentenced three believers to suspended sentences: Tsagan Khalgaeva and Yekaterina Menkova to two years, and Kishta Tutinova to three years. The court considered it a crime for women to have peaceful conversations about God and the Bible via video conferencing. In February 2023, the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Kalmykia opened a criminal case against pensioner Tutinova on suspicion of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. A week later, she, Khalgaeva and Menkova were searched. After that Tutinova was sent to an isolation ward for two days. In December 2023, Ekaterina and Tsagan were charged with participating in an extremist organization's activities. A year later, the case went to cour...

 RUSSIA    The last word of the defendant Vitaly Zhuk in Khabarovsk June 20, 2024 Khabarovsk Territory Explaining his position to the court, the believer noted: "I have not heard what exactly in my words and actions was an extremist crime." He asked the court to take into account that "peaceful worship of God cannot be recognized as a crime in a modern civilized state." Transcript of the court session in the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk dated 06/20/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 on charges of Vitaly Vyacheslavovich Zhuk and others. of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Zhuk Vitaly Vyacheslavovich: I want to start my last word with words of gratitude to those who supported me. I thank our friends for coming to all the meetings, despite the fact that they could not be present in the hall where the hearings were held. Dear friends, your presence has been a support and encouragement to us, thank you ver...

 RUSSIA A Court of Appeal Upholds the Conviction of Jehovah's Witnesses Spouses from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky June 26, 2024 Kamchatka Territory On June 25, 2024, the Kamchatka Regional Court upheld the sentence of the court of first instance against Yelena and Sergey Chechulin: 2-year suspended sentences for participating in the activities of an "extremist" organization. The believers do not agree with the decisions of the courts. Yelena Chechulina noted in her appeal: "The court did not establish the presence of motives of religious hatred or enmity in my actions, and it did not establish against which specific social group I acted. All my actions were completely peaceful." She added: "The law does not consider the confession, including together with others, of the religion to which the liquidated religious associations belonged as a sign of extremism. Therefore, the recognition of a legal entity as extremist is not tantamount to imposing a ban on a religi...

 RUSSIA    The last word of the defendant Tatiana Zhuk in Khabarovsk June 20, 2024 Khabarovsk Territory Tatiana Zhuk shared the bitter feelings that false accusations of extremism arouse in her, and added: "Forbidding me to meet with my co—religionists and talk about our Creator is like forbidding me to breathe." Transcript of the court session in the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk dated 06/20/2024 in the case 1-6/2024 on charges of Tatyana Valentinovna Zhuk and others. of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Zhuk Tatyana Valentinovna: In my last word, I will tell you a little about myself, about my life principles and how I feel about the criminal prosecution that I had to face. I really hope that this will help you see, Your Honor, the absurdity of the accusation against me. I once read the words of Jean Moliere, who said: "Anyone who wants to accuse should not be in a hurry." In our trial, the p...

 RUSSIA    The last word of the defendant Ekaterina Menkova in Elista June 5, 2024 Kalmykia "My views and life principles have nothing to do with extremism, hatred, or enmity," the believer said at the trial and asked: "Is it worth condemning for wanting to help people and glorify God?" Transcript of the court session in the Elista City Court dated 06/05/2024 in the case 1-112/2024 on the accusation of Ekaterina Vladimirovna Menkova of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Menkova Ekaterina Vladimirovna: The first thing I would like to do is thank you for the kind things that happened during the meetings. Your Honor, you set an example to all participants in the process of how to be well organized. You allowed our defenders to participate in the trial along with our lawyers. Also, friends and family could always be present in the hall. Sometimes you noticed that we did not understand the essence of the quest...

 RUSSIA Further jail term for answering fellow prisoners' questions about faith? 24 June 2024 For the first time, a Jehovah's Witness prisoner of conscience is on trial in Kostroma for his exercise of freedom of religion or belief while imprisoned. Dmitry Terebilov answered questions about his faith from a fellow prisoner. Officials have not explained why answering questions constitutes involving another person in an "extremist" organisation. The camp administration has recordings of his conversations, but prison officials have not said whether and why they kept him under surveillance. If found guilty, he could receive a further sentence of several years, on top of his present 3-year term. 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 ...