Yet Another Resident of the Bryansk Region Was Convicted for Her Faith. Yuliya Globa From Unecha Got a 2.5-Year Suspended Sentence

On June 25, 2024, Tatyana Postavneva, judge of the Unecha District Court of the Bryansk Region, found Yuliya Globa guilty of extremism. English teacher, 42, got a 2,5-year suspended sentence for practicing her religion.

In May 2023, the Investigative Committee of the Bryansk Region initiated a criminal case against the believer. The investigation considered the conversations with people about the Bible to be participating in the activity of an extremist organization. Prior to that, the home of Yuliya and her husband, Ernest, had been searched three times. After 4.5 months of investigative actions the case went to court.

Witnesses for the prosecution gave a positive description of Yuliya's character. An Orthodox priest, who also appeared in court as a witness, said he was not familiar with the accused and her activity. The expert, professor of the Department of World History and International Relations, noted that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not banned in Russia.

In her final statement, Globa said: "Your Honor, what do you think, can words from the Bible harm the constitutional order, a group of people, or an individual RF citizen? On the contrary, they give comfort and hope! Therefore, I do not consider myself guilty of the crime I am accused of."

Earlier in the Bryansk Region, four other fellow believers of Yuliya, including two women, were convicted on similar charges. A total of 116 women have already been convicted in Russia for belonging to that religion.