Appeal in Birobidzhan Approved the Verdict for the Faith Against Irina Lokhvitskaya

On November 16, 2021, the court of the Jewish Autonomous Region affirmed the sentence passed on 59-year-old Irina Lokhvitskaya for "participation in the activities of a prohibited organization" — 2.5 years of suspended sentence, 2 years of probation and 1 year of restricted freedom.

Addressing the court of appeal with her last word, the believer stated: " To speak about God is my right from birth, and it is guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation." She drew attention to the unfairness and baselessness of the accusation: "In fact, the victims are me and my family."

On July 19, 2021, the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region found Irina Lokhvitskaya guilty of violating the law on extremism, essentially because of a religious practice common to all Jehovah's Witnesses in the world. The believer attended worship meetings and participated in a joint Bible study.

During the trial, the prosecutors presented no evidence that the believer was a threat to society, but zealously demonstrated that she belonged to Jehovah's Witnesses. Thus a certain "presumption of guilt" was established in the case of the Jehovah's Witnesses religion, in violation of part 1, article 49 of the Russian Constitution, according to which no one may be accused of a crime until proven guilty. As a result, Irina was subjected to discrimination, despite the fact that the Constitution prohibits any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on the basis of religion.

By the decision of the court of appellate jurisdiction, the verdict came into force. Irina Lokhvitskaya has the right to file a cassation appeal, as well as to appeal to international instances.

Persecution of believers in Birobidzhan came into an active phase on May 17, 2018, when law enforcement officers conducted an operation codenamed "Judgment Day" against local Jehovah's Witnesses. Nineteen criminal cases were opened against 23 believers in the region. Seventeen of them, including Irina Lokhvitskaya, her son Arthur and daughter-in-law Anna, received suspended sentences ranging from 2 to 2.5 years; 11 sentences are in effect. Most of the cases against Jehovah's Witnesses were initiated and brought to trial by the investigator Dmitriy Yankin.

Dr. Sergey Ivanenko, Ph.D., a religious scholar, analyzed the situation with Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and drew the following conclusion: "Having found themselves in the role of defendants, Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider themselves guilty and do not intend to abandon their religious beliefs... While they remain Jehovah's Witnesses, they do not consider themselves criminals."