The Court in Birobidzhan Gave Irina Lokhvitskaya 2.5 years Suspended for Confessing the Faith of Jehovah's Witnesses

On July 19, 2021, the judge of the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, Vasilina Bezotecheskikh, found 59-year-old Irina Lokhvitskaya guilty of participating in the activities of a banned religious community. She was sentenced to 2.5 years of probation and 1 year of restriction of freedom. The prosecutor asked for 4 years in prison for Irina.

“The accusations [of extremism] against me are unsubstantiated and unfounded. I have been one of Jehovah's Witness for 28 years. The acquaintances I meet are shocked, they are outraged that I am being persecuted for my faith, they understand that I am far from extremism. Therefore, I am not ashamed to look people into eyes, I have not done anything illegal, ”said Irina Lokhvitskaya in her last plea on July 16. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

The case against Irina Lokhvitskaya was initiated on February 6, 2020. She became the accused after her son, Arthur, who was convicted on similar charges, and his wife Anna, whose case is handled by the same judge as the Irina's.

The investigation was conducted by Denis Yankin, senior forensic investigator of the Investigative Department of the FSB of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region. He also organized criminal prosecution against seven more believers from Birobidzhan. There are five women among them. The investigation lasted six months, and on August 21, 2020, 26 volumes of the case against Irina Lokhvitskaya were transferred to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region. By the decision of the judge, the hearings were held behind closed doors, the believer was deprived of the support of relatives and the right to publicity of the trial. The trial lasted over 9 months. During the trial, no evidence was presented that Irina incited religious hatred or spoke out against the state. There were no victims in the case either.

The persecution of believers in Birobidzhan intensified on May 17, 2018, when the security forces conducted an operation codenamed "Doomsday" against local Jehovah's Witnesses. In the region, 19 criminal cases were initiated against 23 believers. 13 of them, including Irina Lokhvitskaya, have already received suspended sentences ranging from 2 to 2.5 years.

Religious service is an integral part of the legitimate religious activity of any denomination. The Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations" guarantees all citizens the right to "perform services ... and ceremonies, teach religion and religious education ... have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them."

Legal scholars and human rights activists both in Russia and abroad unanimously condemn the actions of the authorities against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation. Back in June 2018, speaking in defense of believers, Russian human rights activists emphasized: "If society does not protect Jehovah's Witnesses, if they are not restored to their rights, this will mean that anyone can be declared an extremist."