The Chelyabinsk Regional Court approved a fine for Jehovah's Witnesses

Irina Mikhailenko was sentenced to a fine of 120 thousand rubles under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code.

On August 16, 2023, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court confirmed the sentence of Jehovah's Witness Irina Mikhailenko. Earlier, on April 25, 2023, the Metallurgical District Court of Chelyabinsk found her guilty under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization). and sentenced her to a fine of 120 thousand rubles.

A criminal case was opened on August 31, 2021 against Vadim Gizatulin, Olga Zhelavskaya and Irina Mikhailenko; his materials were isolated from the case of Vladimir Suvorov . Subsequently, the materials regarding each of the three defendants were separated into separate proceedings. In July 2022, Mikhailenko’s case came to court. During the debate, the state prosecutor asked to sentence Mikhailenko to four years in prison, as well as restriction of freedom for 10 months.

The court previously sentenced Vadim Gizatulin and Olga Zhelavskaya to two years of suspended imprisonment.

The accusation of Jehovah's Witnesses being involved in the activities of an extremist organization is due to the fact that in April 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia decided to recognize the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations as extremist. We believe that this decision, which entailed mass persecution of believers under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, had no legal grounds, and we regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination. In June 2022, the ECHR issued a ruling on the complaint of Jehovah's Witnesses, in which it recognized that the ban on their materials and organizations and the persecution of believers contradict the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and demanded that criminal cases under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code against Jehovah's Witnesses and release believers in prison.

Sources

• The Mikhailenko case in Chelyabinsk. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2023. September 8.
• Irina Mikhailenko from Chelyabinsk will pay a fine for her faith. “I am being judged only because I am a Jehovah’s Witness.” Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2023. April 25.