A court in Khakassia denied early release to a Jehovah's Witness despite her serious illness

On October 18, the Ust-Abakansky District Court of Khakassia denied 70-year-old Valentina Baranovskaya early release from the colony. Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia reported this.

The lawyer provided the court with a medical report with a confirmed diagnosis of “cerebral infarction,” which Baranovskaya was diagnosed with in the summer of 2020. The court did not consider serious illness a sufficient basis for early release. The believer's term of imprisonment expires in January 2023.

On May 24, the Supreme Court of Khakassia rejected the appeal against the sentence of Valentina Baranovskaya and her son Roman.

On February 24, the Abakan City Court found Roman guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code), and his mother Valentina of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). The believers were sentenced to 6 and 2 years in a general regime colony, respectively.

• In April 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as an extremist organization and banned its activities throughout the country. In August of the same year, all communities of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of prohibited ones.
• After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began. In February 2019, the court handed down its first sentence with real imprisonment - Danish citizen Dennis Christensen was sentenced to six years in prison.