The Court of Cassation in Vladivostok Upheld the Verdict Against Believers From Yelizovo

On September 12, 2023, the Ninth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Vladivostok upheld the verdict against Konstantin Bazhenov and his wife Snezhana, as well as Vera Zolotova — a 2-year suspended sentence for their beliefs.

The court proceedings in the case against the believers from Yelizovo are already going on for 4 years. In September 2020, Yuliya Piskun, judge of the Yelizovsky District Court, handed down all three a guilty verdict, which was upheld by the court of appeal, but in November 2021, the court of cassation overturned this decision and returned the case to the appeal stage. In January 2022, a second court of appeal acquitted the believers. However, the prosecutor's office, through the Supreme Court, achieved that this decision was overturned. As a result, the case was sent for a new appeal consideration, the believers were found guilty of extremism and given suspended sentences. The believers filed a cassation appeal.

In the Kamchatka Territory, another 10 Jehovah's Witnesses are beeing repressed for their religious beliefs. Six of them were given suspended sentences of various lengths, and two were ordered to pay fines.