Unjust Verdicts

An Appeals Court Upheld the Verdict of an 80-Year-Old Widow From Seversk: a Four-Year Suspended Sentence for Reading the Bible

Tomsk Region

On February 14, 2022, the Tomsk Regional Court approved the sentence for teacher Yelena Saveliyeva: 4 years of suspended sentence for practicing her religion.

Addressing the panel of judges, the believer emphasized the absurdity of the sentence passed on her: "My faith teaches me not to kill, not to deceive, not to be a vile person, not to wish harm to my neighbor, not to envy, to be kind and compassionate, to be a humble and conscientious person, to see good in everyone, to wish my neighbor all the best, to help, love and enjoy life. And for this, dear court, I was recorded as an extremist."

The decision of the court entered into force. The believer still insists on her innocence. She has the right to appeal the verdict in the cassation procedure, as well as in international instances.

Two months earlier, a judge of the Severskiy District Court of the Tomsk Region found Yelena Saveliyeva guilty of involving persons in the activities of an extremist organization. This is how the court interpreted the believer's peaceful conversations about the Bible with other people.

The believer spent more than 9 months under house arrest. The criminal prosecution caused great damage to Saveliyeva's reputation. She has worked at the school for over 40 years and was awarded an honorary diploma from the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the recognition of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremists "nonsense." He stated that they are “also Christians” and “what they are being persecuted for” is not clear.

Case of Saveliyeva in Seversk

Case History
In March 2021, investigator A. G. Kolpakov opened a criminal case against Elena Savelyeva, a teacher with 40 years of experience, accusing the elderly woman of recruiting and involving others in the activities of an extremist organization. The case was based on the testimony of the FSB agent Klisheva and the employee of the Russian Guard Studenova, who pretended to be interested in the Bible - the women kept hidden audio and video recordings of conversations and worship. In June 2021, the case was transferred to the Seversky City Court of the Tomsk Region for consideration by Judge Svetlana Chebotareva. In October 2021, the prosecutor requested a fine of half a million rubles for Savelyeva. A month later, the court found the 80-year-old woman guilty and sentenced her to 4 years of probation. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in February 2022.
Timeline

Persons in case

Saveliyeva
Yelena

Criminal case

Region:
Tomsk Region
Locality:
Seversk
Court case number:
12102690003000023
Initiated:
March 25, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the Closed Administrative Territory of the City of Seversk of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Tomsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-254/2021
Court:
Seversk City Court of the Tomsk Region
Judge:
Svetlana Chebotareva
Case History
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