Tatyana Sholner outside the courthouse, May 2021

Tatyana Sholner outside the courthouse, May 2021

Tatyana Sholner outside the courthouse, May 2021

Unjust Verdicts

An Appeals Court Left Unchanged Birobidzhan-Based Tatyana Sholner's Court Sentence

Jewish Autonomous Area

On September 14, 2022, the Ninth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Vladivostok approved the sentence of 29-year-old Tatyana Sholner - 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment.

Sholner faced criminal prosecution for her faith in 2020, when FSB investigator Dmitriy Yankin opened 6 criminal cases for faith against women from Birobidzhan in one day. All of them were charged with participation in the activities of an extremist organization. The basis was the reading and discussion of the Bible, prayers and religious songs in the circle of friends.

The court of first instance ruled on June 25, 2021, then in December of the same year, the upheld the upheld the verdict. Tatyana Sholner still considers both of these decisions unjust, as she stated in her appeal: “Law enforcement agencies did not establish a single fact of my illegal activities … Not a single person has been identified who suffered from the activities of believers.” The decision of the court of cassation deprived Tatyana of the right to rehabilitation.

In total, the Ninth Cassation Court received complaints in 16 cases of Jehovah's Witnesses from the Jewish Autonomous Region. Four of them were sent for re-appeal.

Case of Scholner in Birobidzhan

Case History
There were many upheavals in the life of Tatyana Sholner from Birobidzhan: the death of her father, the death of her 12-year-old cousin, and then also criminal prosecution for her faith. In February 2020, the Federal Security Service for the Jewish Autonomous Region opened criminal cases against Tatyana and 5 other women for participating in the activities of an extremist organization. According to the investigation, the believers “resumed the activities of the local religious organization liquidated in 2016 … as well as the “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.” This is how the investigator interpreted the usual ways of expressing faith: singing songs, praying, and discussing the Bible. In June 2021, the court sentenced Tatyana Sholner to 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment. The Court of Appeal and Cassation upheld this decision.
Timeline

Persons in case

Sholner
Tatyana

Criminal case

Region:
Jewish Autonomous Area
Locality:
Birobidzhan
Court case number:
12007990001000003
Initiated:
February 6, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Jewish Autonomous Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-45/2021 (1-463/2020)
Court:
Birobidzhanskiy District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region
Judge:
Yuliya Tsykina
Case History
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