The Court of Cassation Again Rejected the Appeal Against the Verdict of Svetlana Monis From Birobidzhan. She Will Continue to Serve Her Suspended Sentence

On October 18, 2023, the Ninth Court of Cassation of Vladivostok confirmed the verdict and decision of the appellate instance against Svetlana Monis, 46, — 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment.

This is the second hearing in the Ninth Court of Cassation in Vladivostok. In 2019, Monis was accused of extremism for reading the Bible together with friends, singing religious songs, and saying prayers. The court of first instance imposed a fine. The appeal toughened the sentence, but the court of cassation overturned this decision.

Then the cassation court indicated that the appellate instance should reconsider the case and take into account the the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 11, freedom of religion which is the norm in the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 28), as well as Note 2 to Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which extremism means, in particular, a crime "committed on the grounds of ... religious hatred or enmity." During the investigation and trial, no evidence of such actions on the part of Svetlana Monis was presented. Also, her activity does not correspond to the concept of extremism described in Article 1 of the Federal Law "On Countering Extremist Activity".

Despite this, a new appeal returned the case to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which sentenced the believer to 2.5 years suspended sentence. A third appeal upheld this decision.

Now 23 Jehovah's Witnesses from the Jewish Autonomous Region have been prosecuted simply for their faith. Four of them, including Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev, are serving their sentences in a penal colony.