The Court of Appeal in Birobidzhan Upholds the Sentence of Tatyana Sholner: 2.5 Years of Suspended Sentence for Faith in Jehovah God

On December 16, 2021, the Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region considered Tatyana Sholner's appeal against the verdict of the Birobidzhan District Court. The panel of judges chaired by Svetlana Ketova approved the verdict.

According to the defendant, the prosecution focused on proving the existence of some kind of organization among believers and their belonging to the denomination of Jehovah's Witnesses instead of specifying specific facts of criminal activity. Tatyana emphasized: "All the actions imputed to me are fully consistent with the constitutional norm: 'everyone is guaranteed... the right to profess... together with others... religion." And my actions were legitimate. I did not disseminate extremist materials, did not call for violence, aggression, discord, hatred, enmity."

Tatyana Sholner is one of 23 victims of religious repression in the Jewish Autonomous Region, which began in 2018 with Operation “Judgment Day”, accompanied by massive searches in the homes of civilians. By profession, a 28-year-old believer is a sewing technician. Her friends and family do not understand why they are persecuting this peaceful girl.

The criminal case against Scholner, like many similar cases in Birobidzhan, was based on the testimony of police officer Yuliya Zvereva. According to the believer, Zvereva reported false information at the trial. Although Scholner became Jehovah's Witness only in 2017 and met Zvereva for the first time in the courtroom, she stated that she had known Tatyana since 2015. At the same time, Zvereva could not say anything about the services considered in the court, since she was not present at them.

On June 25, 2021, Judge Yuliya Tsykina found Tatyana Sholner guilty of participating in the activities of a banned organization and sentenced her to 2 years and 6 months of conditional imprisonment. The verdict entered into force. The believer still insists on her innocence. She has the right to appeal against the verdict in cassation, as well as in international instances.

In total, there are 19 similar criminal cases against believers in the Jewish Autonomous Region, 17 of them have already been convicted.

Russian and foreign human rights activists unanimously condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. On October 28, 2021, the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled that the divine services of Jehovah's Witnesses, their joint rituals and ceremonies do not in themselves constitute a crime under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.