In the photo: Galina Kobeleva with her son Sergey

In the photo: Galina Kobeleva with her son Sergey

In the photo: Galina Kobeleva with her son Sergey

Unjust Verdicts

In Primorye, Galina Kobeleva, 66, Received a Six-Year Suspended Sentence for Practicing the Religion of Jehovah's Witnesses

Primorye Territory

On October 20, 2022, the judge of the Lesozavodskiy District Court of the Primorye Territory Sergey Galayuda found Galina Kobeleva guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization only because of her religion and sentenced her to 6 years suspended sentemce—this is exactly the punishment requested by the prosecutor.

In court, the believer said, “I still insist that I did not commit any crime. My religious activity was not a continuation of the activities of a liquidated legal entity, but a way of confessing my faith.” The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

On May 12, 2020, a wave of searches took place in the city of Lesozavodsk, as a result of which four Jehovah's Witnesses—Yevgeniy Grinenko, Svetlana Efremova, Galina Kobeleva, and her son Sergei—became defendants in a criminal case for their faith. In August 2021, due to Galina's illness, her case was separated into a separate proceeding. According to the investigation, the believer was guilty of “assisting Y. A. Grinenko in organizing meetings of the LRO [local religious organization] of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Lesozavodsk, acting as a coordinator.” Galina Kobeleva was included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring, which made it difficult for her to get a livelihood.

In total, the Investigative Committee investigated the case for a year and five months, and in October 2021 it went to court. The hearings went on for almost a year. The accusation was largely based on the testimony of an infiltrated FSB agent, Vladislav Mrachko, who asked Galina to study the Bible with him, and also repeatedly expressed a desire to attend divine services. One of the security officials, detective Severin, stated in court that the reason for the operational actions against Kobeleva was her involvement in the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In addition, the conducted psychological-linguistic-religious examination was not objective. For example, Galina's everyday conversation about a meeting with a person at a store and a bus schedule was interpreted by experts as a discussion of "issues related to attending meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses held in small groups at different times in different districts of Lesozavodsk." In addition, the conclusion gave a legal assessment of the actions of Kobeleva, and this is exclusively within the competence of the court. 20 witnesses also refuted the charges brought against Galina Kobeleva. However, the court convicted the believer.

In Primorye, 41 Jehovah's Witnesses have already been prosecuted, 13 of them have been sentenced to suspended sentences for their religion.

The European Court of Human Rights considered the persecution of believers to be unjust, and all the persecution of the followers of this religion deployed in Russia was groundless.

Case of Kobeleva in Lesozavodsk

Case History
In May 2020, in Lesozavodsk, officers of the Investigative Committee and the FSB conducted searches in 4 dwellings of believers, including Galina Kobeleva. Law enforcement officers opened a criminal case against Yevgeniy Grinenko. Soon Galina and her son Sergey became his defendants. The woman was included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. The accusation was based on the testimony of an embedded FSB agent Vladislav Mrachko, who communicated with Kobeleva, pretending to be interested in the Bible. In March 2021, the case of the believer was separated into separate proceedings in connection with her serious illness, and 7 months later it went to court. Despite the fact that the testimonies of 20 witnesses did not confirm the charges, and the examination was biased, in October 2022, the court found Galina guilty and sentenced her to 6 years of probation, which is exactly the punishment the prosecutor requested. The appellate court upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Primorye Territory
Locality:
Lesozavodsk
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, "assisted E. A. Grinenko in organizing meetings of the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses in Lesozavodsk, acted as a coordinator."
Court case number:
12102050013000012
Initiated:
May 12, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
SO in Lesozavodsk, Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Primorsky Krai
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-60/2022 (1-375/2021)
Court of First Instance:
Лесозаводский районный суд Приморского края
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Сергей Галаюда
Case History
Back to top