Case of Suvorova in Chelyabinsk
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March 26, 2019
In Chelyabinsk and Yemanzhelinsk, mass searches are carried out in the homes of believers.
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December 5, 2019
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region charges 71-year-old Valentina Suvorova with continuing the activities of an extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) only because the woman exercised the right to freedom of religion. They took a written undertaking not to leave the place.
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December 25, 2019
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February 7, 2020
Suvorova's case is transferred to the Metallurgicheskiy District Court of Chelyabinsk. The judge finds no grounds for a preliminary hearing.
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March 3, 2020
About 40 people come to support Valentina (20 are allowed into the hall). The prosecutor reads out the charges. Judge Grigory Yarygin does not invite Valentina to express her attitude to the charges, which is provided for by law. He gives permission to do so only after the lawyer draws attention to the need to comply with this provision. Valentina reads out her attitude to the charges. Prosecution witnesses are scheduled to be questioned at the next hearing.
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February 11, 2021
At the hearing, the prosecutor reads out the testimony of prosecution witnesses. The witnesses themselves are not present in court, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Valentina Suvorova speaks with her attitude to the accusation. The judge allows her to read out the testimony while sitting, due to her age and poor health. The defendant draws attention to the fact that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not ban the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, which means that any person living in Russia has the right to practice the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses after April 20, 2017 . And this is not a crime.
The defendant shows the court the absurdity of what is happening: "The preliminary investigation bodies incorrectly and arbitrarily interpret the decision of the Supreme Court. And it is their misinterpretation, and not the alleged crime I committed, that is the reason why I am in the dock today."
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March 10, 2021
The trial of Valentina Suvorova is entering its final stage - debate. The prosecutor requests a sentence of 3 years in a general regime colony for the elderly believer, calling her guilty of extremism.
"In the period from September 6, 2017, the exact date and time have not been established, in an unidentified place on the territory of Chelyabinsk, at Suvorova V.A. ... there was a criminal intent to commit unlawful acts to participate in the continuation of the activities of the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses "Chelyabinsk", in respect of which the court decided to liquidate," the indictment says. According to the prosecutor, Valentina Suvorova "committed a deliberate crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security" by talking to the townspeople about the Bible-based beliefs held by Jehovah's Witnesses. The course of the trial did not establish any other crime.
The believer makes the last word, does not admit guilt and asks her to be acquitted. "I have never had anything to do with extremists and extremism. And forbidding believing is like forbidding breathing. Unthinkable and impossible!" says Valentina Suvorova, addressing the court.
The court schedules the announcement of the verdict at 16:00 on March 11.
The last word of the defendant Valentina Suvorova in Chelyabinsk - #
March 11, 2021
The Metallurgichesky District Court of Chelyabinsk found Valentina Suvorova guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced her to 2 years of suspended sentence with restriction of liberty for a term of 6 months with a probationary period of 1 year.
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March 12, 2021