RETIREE GIVEN PRISON TERM FOR PRAYER TO "GOD JEHOVAH" IN CHELIABINSK
Moskovskii Komsomolets, 12 March 2021
A district court in Cheliabinsk found a 73-year-old local resident, Valentina Suvorova, guilty of extremism in that she "performed singing" and "prayed to God Jehovah." This was reported on the website of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses (an organization forbidden in the R.F.).
The court sentenced Suvorova to a one-year suspended prison term, although the prosecutor had asked to give her punishment in the form of three years of incarceration in a penal colony. According to the state prosecution, the woman was a part of a forbidden organization and "deliberately conversed about faith with residents of the city of Cheliabinsk, performed singing, prayed to the God Jehovah, and studied religious literature."
It is noted that Suvorova worked for 30 years as a teacher in a school and has been awarded the title of "veteran of labor." (tr. by PDS, posted 12 March 2021)
73-YEAR-OLD JEHOVAH'S WITNESS WOMAN FROM CHELIABINSK SENTENCED TO SUSPENDED TERM OF ONE YEAR
On 11 March 2021, the Metallurgy district court of Cheliabinsk sentenced a 73-year-old Jehovah's Witness, Valentina Suvorova, to a year of imprisonment, suspended. This is reported by the press service of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
Suvorova was found guilty on the basis of the article about participation in an extremist organization (part 2, article 282.2 of CC). The press service quotes the retiree's last word: "Cases of prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, which are being conducted now in Russia, occur before the eyes of the whole world. And in such a situation, the reputation of our country suffers greatly, being portrayed, in fact, as a totalitarian state." She continues: "The criminal case against me has no legal bases and defies logic and common sense. I am an extremist without extremism. That doesn't exist. Today the stamp of extremist is being applied to me and I am accused of a grave crime, dragging my good name through the mud."
The prosecutor requested that the believer be sentenced to three years of real time.
At the present moment, the case of the spouse of the adherent to the confession, Vladimir Suvorov, is being considered in the Metallurgy district court. [. . .]
According to federal law No. 114. "On combating extremist activity," extremism is the violent change of the constitutional structure, destruction of the territorial integrity of the state, justification of terrorism, propaganda of social inequality based on various indicators and discrimination, commission of hate crimes, propaganda of nazism, and also calls for such activity and its planning. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 March 2021)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
https://www2.stetson.edu/religious-news/