Kishta Tutinova, Tsagan Khalgayeva and Yekaterina Menkova

Kishta Tutinova, Tsagan Khalgayeva and Yekaterina Menkova

Kishta Tutinova, Tsagan Khalgayeva and Yekaterina Menkova

Unjust Verdicts

A court in Elista has toughened the punishment for three believers. A court in Elista has toughened the punishment for three believers. Over Online Bible Discussions

Kalmykia

On September 17, 2024, the Supreme Court of Kalmykia reclassified Kishta Tutinova's actions from participation to organizing the activity of an extremist organization, appointing her to four years suspended sentence with a probationary period of three years and restriction of freedom for one year. The court added six months to the additional restriction of freedom for Yekaterina Menkova and Tsagan Khalgayeva.

In June 2024, the Elista City Court of the Republic of Kalmykia sentenced three believers to suspended sentences: Khalgayeva and Menkova to two years, and Tutinova to three years. The court called it illegal for women to talk peacefully about God and the Bible. Assistant prosecutor Marina Bugdayeva appealed the sentence as "excessively lenient".

The decision of the court of appeal has entered into force, but the believers still do not admit guilt. Speaking in the court of first instance, Tutinova emphasized: "I have never carried out extremist activities and there was no intent. I have never had a motive of enmity or hatred, no one was hurt, no one was hurt. I am a believer and a law-abiding citizen."

The Case of Tutinova and Others in Elista

Case History
In February 2023, the FSB opened a criminal case for organizing the activities of an extremist organization against pensioner Kishta Tutinova from Elista and invaded with searches of her and her co-religionists. According to the investigation, she “held religious meetings and directly participated in them by means of online conferences.” The woman spent 2 days in the temporary detention facility, more than 4 months under house arrest and about 7 months under a ban on certain actions. Tsagan Khalgayeva and Yekaterina Menkova were witnesses in the case, but in December 2023 they were charged with participating in the activities of an extremist organization. In February 2024, the case went to court. Three months later, the women were sentenced to suspended sentences ranging from 2 to 3 years. The appeal satisfied the complaint of the prosecutor’s office, reclassifying the actions of Kishta Tutinova from part 2 to part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and assigning her 4 years suspended sentence with a probationary period of 3 years and restriction of liberty for 1 year. Menkova and Khalgayeva were sentenced to an additional restriction of freedom for 6 months.
Timeline

Persons in case

Khalgaeva
Tsagan
Менькова
Екатерина
Tutinova
Kishta

Criminal case

Region:
Kalmykia
Locality:
Elista
Suspected of:
"conducts religious meetings and directly participates in them in the mode of online conferences, and also involves residents of the region in the activities of this organization for the purpose of propaganda"
Court case number:
12307850001000001
Initiated:
February 16, 2023
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
FSB Directorate for the Republic of Kalmykia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-112/2024
Court of First Instance:
Элистинский городской суд
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Алексей Полевщиков
Case History