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, the FSB opened a criminal case against Lyudmila Shchekoldina from the village of Pavlovskaya. The accusation was based on the report of the agent of the special services Ilchenko that the believer allegedly tried to involve him in the activities of an extremist organization. This is how the investigation regarded his conversations with Shchekoldina on biblical topics. After a 9-hour search of the woman’s house and interrogation, they took a written undertaking not to leave the place. In May 2021, the case went to court. A year later, the court sentenced the believer to 4 years and 1 month in a penal colony. The appellate court upheld the verdict in October 2022. In March 2023, the cassation court did not change this decision. In the colony, Lyudmila’s health deteriorated and she was scheduled for surgery. For six months, the believer endured severe pain, and only in August 2023 did the administration of the colony allow her to receive the necessary treatment.
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:
Krasnodar Territory Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-25/2022 (1-103/2021)
Court:
Павловский районный суд Краснодарского края
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Ольга Марченко
Case History