The Court Convicted a Pensioner From Tolyatti. She Received a 2-Year Suspended Sentence for Talking About the Bible Via Video Link

 RUSSIA 


The Court Convicted a Pensioner From Tolyatti. She Received a 2-Year Suspended Sentence for Talking About the Bible Via Video Link

July 9, 2024 Samara Region


On July 8, 2024, Yelena Laskina, judge of the Central District Court of Tolyatti, completed the consideration of the case of Galina Komissarova, 63, considering her guilty of extremism because of discussing the Bible with friends. The believer does not agree with the verdict and can appeal against it.


The criminal case was initiated in September 2023. The believer was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. Due to the stress, Galina ended up in the hospital with a hypertensive crisis. She said: "The pressure increased every time I came home after the interrogation or began to examine the materials of my criminal case . . . The accusations caused me pain because all these 'acts' are unnatural for me." Investigator Sysoyeva forced the believer to appear for interrogation, ignoring complaints of ill health, and did not call an ambulance for her.


The investigation lasted 7 weeks, after which the case went to court. Prosecution witnesses, including the secret one, characterized Komissarova positively and reported that they had not heard from her anything that can be viewed as extremism. The prosecutor requested 4 years in a penal colony for the believer.


As "evidence" of extremist statements, the prosecution presented to the court a religious expert examination of video recordings of worship services, in which, according to the investigation, Galina participated. As the defense emphasized, the examination was carried out by specialist Lenar Galiyev, who does not have a special education and, accordingly, the necessary qualifications. "The expert draws conclusions based only on his assumptions, without consulting the works of scientists who have devoted decades to the study of the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses," Galina Komissarova emphasized. She continued: "The questions posed to the experts contained clues as to who to blame and for what . . . Doesn't this prompt us to think about the objectivity of their conclusions?"


Galina Komissarova was widowed when her children were 10 and 12, and she had to raise them alone. She worked as a kindergarten teacher for many years. The parents of the pupils, her neighbors and former colleagues provided the court with her positive references.


Despite all the difficulties, Galina does not lose heart: "Fellow believers write me a lot of warm words, send me encouraging poems, and assure me of their love. They say they are worried, they pray for me, and they are even proud of me."


The case of Komissarova in Tolyatti


Case History


In the early September morning of 2023, Galina Komissarova, a resident of Tolyatti, was woken up by a loud knock on the door. Officers of the Investigative Committee, who came to the woman with a search, told her that a criminal case had been opened against her for participating in worship services of Jehovah’s Witnesses. After the search, Komissarova was taken for interrogation, after which she a recognizance agreement was taken from her. Due to the stress experienced, Galina was hospitalized with a hypertensive crisis. In October 2023, the case went to court. The prosecutor requested 4 years in a penal colony. The court sentenced the pensioner to 2 years of suspended sentence.


Criminal case


Region:

Samara Region

Locality:

Tolyatti

Suspected of:

"With the use of conspiracy measures, including the use of a video communication application took an active part in the form of collective religious worship, consisting of a consistent study and discussion of the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses" (from the decision to bring as an accused)

Court case number:

12302360032000362

Case initiated:

September 7, 2023

Current case stage:

Verdict did not take effect

Investigating:

Central Interdistrict Investigation Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region

Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:

282.2 (2)

Court case number:

1-90/2024 (1-662/2023)

Court of First Instance:

Central District Court of Tolyatti

Judge of the Court of First Instance:

Elena Laskina

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