Criminal trial

Svetlana Monis' Criminal Case Based on Practicing Her Faith Is Routed to the Original Jurisdiction for a Second Hearing

Jewish Autonomous Area

On March 9, 2022 a panel of judges of the Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, chaired by Elena Pyshkina, overturned the conviction of Jehovah's Witness Svetlana Monis. The case is returned to the Birobidzhan District Court for review by a new panel of judges.

In February 2021, Svetlana Monis was convicted and sentenced to a fine of 10 thousand rubles for alleged participation in the activities of an extremist organization. In May 2021, the appeal panel of the same court toughened the sentence, replacing the fine with a suspended sentence. But in December 2021, the Ninth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction overturned the decision of the appellate instance. The criminal case for the faith was returned to the appellate stage for review by a new court.

Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev, also ended up on the bench on charges of extremism. A total of 23 Jehovah's Witnesses in the region have already been persecuted for their beliefs.

Russian authorities have repeatedly assured that the Jehovah's Witnesses faith is not banned. As the Russian Supreme Court Plenum explained on October 28, 2021, worship by Jehovah's Witnesses does not by itself constitute an "extremist" crime, despite the liquidation of their legal entities.

The Case of Monis in Birobidzhan

Case History
In September 2019, a criminal case was initiated against Svetlana Monis, a foreign language teacher. A year earlier, an investigator detained her husband, Alam Aliyev, during a massive FSB special operation in Birobidzhan. Monis, along with other believers, was charged with participating in the activity of an extremist organization. For more than 16 months, the believer was under a recognizance agreement. In February 2021, the court imposed a fine on her. But 3 months later, the court of appeal toughened the sentence, imposing a 2.5-year suspended sentence on the believer. In December 2021, the court of cassation returned the case to the appellate stage, which, in turn, overturned the verdict and returned the case for a new trial. Its result was a suspended sentence of 2.5 years. In 2023, during the third appeal hearing this decision was upheld, later the court of cassation left it unchanged.
Timeline

Persons in case

Monis
Svetlana

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Suspected of:
According to the investigation she “directly participated... in disseminating the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses... by improving her preaching skills and other religious activities”
Court case number:
11907990001000016
Initiated:
September 26, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-297/2022
Court:
Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge:
Yuliya Tsykina
Case History
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