Natalya Voropaeva from Krasnoyarsk Will Pay a Fine of 360,000 Rubles for Her Faith in Jehovah God. The Court of Appeal Upheld the Verdict

On May 25, 2023, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court upheld the verdict against Natalya Voropaeva. She will pay a fine of 360,000 rubles for her faith in God, but has the right to appeal this decision in the cassation procedure.

Natalya Voropaeva explained why she considers the verdict of the Zheleznodorozhny District Court in Krasnoyarsk dated March 24, 2023 to be unfounded: “The charges are contradictory, vague and based on assumptions. The verdict does not contain any statements of an extremist nature made by me, and the materials of the case confirm this.” The believer also pointed out that her mere participation in meetings for worship was evidence enough of her guilt for the court of first instance. In particular, the court considered her short comments about trust in the Bible, belief in the resurrection of the dead, and the need to remain faithful in marriage as extremism.

The defense emphasized that the court did not heed the clarifications of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of October 28, 2021, according to which, in the event of the liquidation of a religious association, believers can continue to practice their religion and their meetings for worship should not constitute a crime.

Natalya Voropaeva faced religious repression in 2018, when her home was searched as part of a criminal case against Andrey Stupnikov. In the fall of 2022, she herself became a defendant. After only 4 months of investigations and 2 months of trial, she was convicted.

Discrimination against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is a matter of serious concern for human rights activists. On June 7, 2022, the ECHR called on the Russian authorities to stop criminal prosecution of the believers and to release the prisoners.