The Birobidzhan District Court Again Issued a Verdict in the Case of the Believer Svetlana Monis — 2.5 Years Suspended Sentence

On October 31, 2022, the retrial of the case of Svetlana Monis was completed in the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region. The result was a suspended sentence of 2.5 years for believing in Jehovah God — the same sentence was given by the regional court at the first appeal.

Svetlana Monis' sentence includes a two-year probationary period, as well as a one-year restriction of freedom. The believer insists on her complete innocence, which she stated at the stage of the debate of the parties. She has the right to appeal the verdict again in the court of appeals.

The starting point of the criminal prosecution of Monis was Operation Doomsday, which took place in May 2018 in Birobidzhan. A year and a half later, the believer was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization for practicing her religion. Monis' legal battle has been ongoing since March 2020. First, Svetlana was fined, later the regional court toughened the sentence. The cassation returned the case to the stage of appeal, which, in turn, sent it to a new consideration in the court of first instance. The hearings began in the spring of 2022. After seven months, the prosecutor again requested four years of imprisonment in a colony for the believer.

The Birobidzhan District Court is also considering the case of Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev. It is expected that it will enter the stage of debates in November 2022.

In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights concluded that the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses unleashed in Russia is groundless.