Unjust Verdicts

Court of Appeal in Birobidzhan Upheld the Verdict For Svetlana Monis. A 2.5-Year Suspended Sentence For Her Faith

Jewish Autonomous Area

On February 28, 2023, the Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region considered the case of Svetlana Monis, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, for the third time. The appeals panel approved the decision of the lower court: for her faith she was found guilty of participating in extremist activity and given a 2.5-year suspended sentence.

In May 2021, the Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region replaced the fine imposed on Monis with a 2.5-year suspended imprisonment. Later, the court of cassation overturned this decision. In March 2022, after a second appeal the case was returned to the Birobidzhan District Court for a new trial. This time, the court of first instance imposed a 2.5-year suspended sentence. The prosecutor again requested 4 years imprisonment for the woman. At the same time, the text of his closing argument was identical to what he read out at the first consideration of the case two years earlier. One of the main pieces of evidence of Svetlana's guilt mentioned by the state prosecutor was using the name Jehovah. However, no court has ever forbidden the use of this name; it is found in many translations of the Bible and works of literature.

Svetlana's case is being heard in the courts for the past three years. At the same time, Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev, as well as three other believers, are subjected to criminal prosecution. In December 2022, Alam was sentenced to 6.5 years in a penal colony. He also was  found guilty of extremism only for his peaceful religious beliefs. Now Aliyev is in the Birobidzhan  detention center awaiting an appeal decision.

Svetlana says that from the very beginning of the prosecution in 2018, she and her husband felt the constant support of fellow believers: “[Friends] from other cities were worried, prayed for us, passed letters with words of support, were interested, and through our relatives passed on material assistance.”

In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights declared the prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia unlawful. In its decision, the court ruled that “imposition of criminal sanctions for manifestation of religious beliefs amounts to an interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion” (§ 264).

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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