An Appeal in Chelyabinsk Approved the Sentence of Ilya Olenin—a Fine of 500,000 Rubles for Believing in Jehovah God

On September 19, 2022, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court dismissed Ilya Olenin's appeal. The verdict has entered into force. The believer still insists on his innocence. He has the right to appeal the verdict in cassation.

On July 26, 2022, Judge Oleg Klementyev of the Snezhinskiy City Court of the Chelyabinsk Region found Ilya Olenin, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and fined him 500,000 rubles. The fact that the believer “took part in the religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses, conducted conversations about the creeds of Jehovah's Witnesses” is cited as a justification for guilt. These actions are not prohibited by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but, on the contrary, are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation as fundamental human rights and freedoms.

The Court of Appeal excluded some evidence from the prosecution, but this did not affect the final punishment. During the trial, the fact that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not prohibit the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses was also not taken into account, but only assessed the actions of specific legal entities.

Despite the fact that the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation issued a ruling in defense of the right of Jehovah's Witnesses to hold worship services and hold joint religious rites and ceremonies, the persecution of believers in the country does not stop. Despite the fact that the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation issued a ruling in defense of the right of Jehovah's Witnesses to hold worship services and hold joint religious rites and ceremonies, the persecution of believers in the country does not stop.