Court Found One More Peaceful Believer From Karachayevo-Circassia Extremist. Svetlana Ogoreva Given Suspended Sentence

A 3-year suspended sentence — this punishment was imposed on Svetlana Ogoreva, 41, from Mednogorskiy by the Zelenchukskiy District Court on October 1, 2025. Attending peaceful meetings for worship and talking about her faith was enough to find her guilty of participating in the activity of an extremist organization.

In her final statement before Judge Fatima Borlakova, Svetlana said: "Although my health has suffered greatly from this unfair and unlawful criminal prosecution, I feel the support of my God and friends and I am sure that whatever the outcome of this case, I will continue to feel this support. [...] And I'm sure if my dad were alive, he would be proud of me. After all, I am not standing before the court for a bad deed, but for my faith in God."

After the death of her father, Svetlana moved to live with her widowed mother. In November 2021, the family's home was searched, followed by a second search 2 years later. At first, Svetlana was a witness in the case of Aleksey Pasynkov, but then the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against her.

Due to the stress experienced, Svetlana started having heart problems. Another cause of anxiety was the criminal case against her elderly mother, Mariya, who is also on trial for her faith. She has to attend hearings at a court which is located 80 kilometers from their home. Svetlana said that friends help them cope with difficulties. For example, one of the friends calls regularly, and others, who live in St. Petersburg, have sent a parcel with treats.

Svetlana categorically disagrees with the charges for extremism. "As to associating with fellow believers, from the standpoint of the Bible, religion cannot be chaotic; believers cannot be apart from each other or act separately. Otherwise, divisions will develop, and the religion itself, that is, a particular denomination, will cease to exist," she said.

Neighbors spoke in support of Svetlana, providing the court with positive character references. According to them, she is kind to others and leads a healthy lifestyle. One of the neighbors said that Svetlana worked for her as a nanny. "I have known her since childhood as a very friendly girl, not looking for trouble, kind and without bad habits. She is approachable, polite, sociable," the woman said. Another neighbor wrote: "My children love her very much. She organizes contests and games for the children."

Mednogorskiy is a small village in the Urupskiy District of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic with a population of less than 5500 people. In addition to Svetlana and Mariya Ogoreva, four other believers have been prosecuted there.