The prosecution asks to impose a fine of half a million rubles on a Jehovah's Witness from the Tomsk region

The prosecutor asks to impose a fine of 500 thousand rubles on 80-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Seversk (Tomsk region), Elena Savelyeva. This was reported on a website covering the persecution of believers in Russia.

The debate between the parties took place on October 12 at a meeting in the Seversky City Court. The elderly woman is accused of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

The case against the pensioner was opened in March 2021. It is based, according to the site, on the testimony of female employees of the FSB and the Russian Guard. One of them recorded conversations with Savelyeva on biblical topics and collected data about other believers.

At the end of March, information appeared that a case had been opened against four local Jehovah's Witnesses for participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). Savelyeva was not reported at that time.

• In total, in the Tomsk region, Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia write, at least three criminal cases have been opened against followers of the confession. One of the defendants, Sergei Klimov, was sentenced to six years in prison, the other, Yevgeny Korotun, was first kept under house arrest and then sent to a pre-trial detention center.
• On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” as an extremist organization, liquidated it and banned its activities in Russia. In August, all Jehovah's Witnesses organizations were added to the list of prohibited organizations. After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began.