Appeal in Vladivostok Approved the Sentence of Four Years of Conditional Imprisonment for a 73-Year-Old Believer

On July 28, 2021 the panel of judges of the Primorsky Krai Court, chaired by Svetlana Gumenchuk, approved the verdict for Lyudmila Shut on appeal. The disabled person from the village of Razdolnoye was sentenced to 4 years of suspended imprisonment with probation for 3 years and restriction of freedom for 1 year for reading and discussing the Bible.

On May 19, 2021 Nadezhdinsky district court of Primorskiy region found Lyudmila Shut guilty of "committing crime according to part 2 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" (participation in activity of prohibited organization). The court sentenced her to four years of suspended imprisonment. The believer received such a verdict because she had participated in peaceful religious meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses and talked to others about God. The believer appealed the verdict because she considers herself completely innocent.

"I will not make excuses, because I never understood what exactly I am being judged for. My conscience is clear before God and before people... In the indictment there are no facts of the crimes of which I am accused. It turns out that I am being accused for the fact that I try to live honestly, respect and observe the laws of the state and do no harm to anyone," said Lyudmila in her last speech during the appeal hearing.

Nevertheless, the appeal panel of three judges decided to uphold the conviction. The believer has the right to appeal it in cassation, as well as in international instances.

The criminal prosecution of Lyudmila Shut began on July 19, 2018, when searches were conducted in the homes of local Jehovah's Witnesses in the village of Razdolnoye. After that, Lyudmila was summoned for questioning several times over a year and a half. Investigator Denis Shevchenko opened a criminal case against her on 10 February 2020.

Witnesses in the Shut case, according to their statements, were subjected to pressure from the security forces, the investigative measures were carried out with violations of the rules of jurisdiction, and the court during the hearings considered the conclusions of a specialist who is not an expert in the field of law.

During the entire investigation Liudmila Shut was under house arrest. After 5 months of court proceedings, the state prosecutor called off judge Natalia Derevyagina, and Lyudmila Setrakova was appointed the new judge. The believer, who can move around only with the help of others or on crutches, was forced to go through all stages of the trial anew. The prosecution worsened Lyudmila's health, her eyesight deteriorated and she needed an operation. After the interrogations, she repeatedly had to call an ambulance.

Already 36 residents of Primorye are trapped in the grip of the Russian judicial system simply for their belief in their God Jehovah. In March 2021 Lyudmila's fellow villager, 77-year-old Vladimir Filippov, was sentenced to 6 years of suspended imprisonment for participating in peaceful worship services.

Russian and foreign activists and organizations unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Vladimir Ryakhovsky, Honorary Advocate of Russia, Member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights: "It always started with Jehovah's Witnesses and then reflected on everyone.