The Court of Cassation Upheld the Sentence for Their Faith Against Four Jehovah's Witnesses from Primorye Territory, Including a Disabled Woman

On October 16, 2023, the Ninth General Jurisdiction Court of Cassation upheld the verdict against believers from Spassk-Dalniy. Dmitriy Malevaniy, Aleksey Trofimov, and Olga Panyuta will continue to serve their sentences in the penal colony, and Olga Opaleva will continue to serve a suspended sentence.

All four believe that they were convicted simply because they are Jehovah's Witnesses. The court sentenced Malevaniy, Trofimov and Panyuta from 4.5 to 7 years in a penal colony. Opaleva, who suffered a stroke during the trial, received a 5-year suspended sentence. Later, the court of appeal reduced the sentence insignificantly.

Back in 2018, the Government of the Russian Federation, in response to the demands of the UN Human Rights Council, expressed its official position regarding Jehovah's Witnesses: "The ban on the activities of the organization 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' does not in itself restrict the right to freedom of religion of its supporters, who still have the right to practice their religious rites, provided that the form of such practice does not contradict the norms of Russian legislation." Despite this, believers across the country continue to be found guilty of extremism for peaceful religious practices.