Unjust Verdicts

The Court of Appeal in Krasnodar left behind bars Lyudmila Shchekoldina, sentenced to more than 4 years in prison

Krasnodar Territory

On October 6, 2022, the Krasnodar Regional Court, chaired by Igor Krainik, denied 45-year-old Lyudmila Shchekoldina her appeal against the verdict, which has now entered into force.

In May 2022, Lyudmila Shchekoldina was sentenced to 4 years and 1 month in a penal colony for participating in the peaceful worship of Jehovah's Witnesses. The believer appealed the verdict. In her appeal, she stressed that the court of first instance did not explain why the peaceful way of expressing faith in God was regarded as a crime, while freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

The believer still insists on her innocence and can file a complaint with the court of cassation.

In February 2022, at a meeting of judges, Chairman of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev explained that peaceful religious rites and ceremonies cannot be considered extremist crimes. However, since 2017, at least 349 Jehovah's Witnesses have passed through Russian prisons.

Case of Shchekoldina in Pavlovskaya

Case History
In April 2020, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Lyudmila Shchekoldina from the village of Pavlovskaya. The charges were based on a report filed by an FSB informant, Ilchenko, who claimed that the believer had allegedly attempted to involve him in the activities of an extremist organization. Investigators interpreted his conversations with Shchekoldina on Biblical topics as evidence of extremist activity. Following a nine-hour search of her home and an interrogation, Shchekoldina was placed under travel restrictions. In May 2021, the case was submitted to court. A year later, the court sentenced the believer to four years and one month in a general-regime penal colony. The verdict was upheld on appeal in October 2022. At the time of her arrest, Lyudmila was suffering from serious medical conditions and required surgery, which was only carried out in August 2023. Lyudmila was released in April 2026.
Timeline

Persons in case

Shchekoldina
Lyudmila

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnodar Territory
Locality:
Pavlovskaya
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, she "committed deliberate actions aimed at involving ... in the activities of an extremist organization ... by describing the attractiveness of serving Jehovah."
Court case number:
12007030001000049
Initiated:
April 23, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate for the Krasnodar Territory
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-25/2022 (1-103/2021)
Court:
Pavlovskiy District Court for the Krasnodar Territory
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Olga Marchenko
Case History
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