Svetlana Monis with her husband Alam Aliyev. November 2022

Svetlana Monis with her husband Alam Aliyev. November 2022

Svetlana Monis with her husband Alam Aliyev. November 2022

Unjust Verdicts

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

Jewish Autonomous Area

On October 18, 2023, the Ninth Court of Cassation of Vladivostok upheld the verdict and decision of the court of appeal against Svetlana Monis, 46, — a 2.5-year suspended sentence.

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

Then the court of cassation directed that the court of appeal reconsider the case and take into account explanation No.11 of the RF Supreme Court Plenum, freedom of religion as guaranteed within the RF Constitution (Article 28), as well as Comment 2 to Article 282.1 of the RF CrC, according to which extremism means, in particular, a crime "committed on the grounds of... religious hatred or enmity." No evidence of such actions on the part of Svetlana Monis was presented during the investigation or trial. Also, her activity does not correspond to the description of extremism stated in Article 1 of the Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity".

Despite this, the court of appeal returned the case to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which gave the believer a 2.5-year suspended sentence. At the third appeal hearing this decision was upheld.

Already 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.

The Case of Monis in Birobidzhan

Case History
In September 2019, a criminal case was initiated against Svetlana Monis, a foreign language teacher. A year earlier, an investigator detained her husband, Alam Aliyev, during a massive FSB special operation in Birobidzhan. Monis, along with other believers, was charged with participating in the activity of an extremist organization. For more than 16 months, the believer was under a recognizance agreement. In February 2021, the court imposed a fine on her. But 3 months later, the court of appeal toughened the sentence, imposing a 2.5-year suspended sentence on the believer. In December 2021, the court of cassation returned the case to the appellate stage, which, in turn, overturned the verdict and returned the case for a new trial. Its result was a suspended sentence of 2.5 years. In 2023, during the third appeal hearing this decision was upheld, later the court of cassation left it unchanged.
Timeline

Persons in case

Monis
Svetlana

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
According to the investigation she “directly participated... in disseminating the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses... by improving her preaching skills and other religious activities”
Court case number:
11907990001000016
Initiated:
September 26, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-297/2022
Court:
Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge:
Yuliya Tsykina
Case History
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