Olga Zhelavskaya on the day of the verdict

Olga Zhelavskaya on the day of the verdict

Olga Zhelavskaya on the day of the verdict

Unjust Verdicts

A 2-Year Suspended Sentence for Believing in Jehovah God—Court of Appeal Upheld the Verdict for Olga Zhelavskaya from Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk Region

On June 30, 2023, the Chelyabinsk Regional Court upheld the verdict of Olga Zhelavskaya, 61 — a 2-year suspended sentence for reading the Bible and it has entered into force. The believer has the right to appeal the verdict in the cassation procedure.

In her final statement before the court of appeal, Zhelavskaya drew attention to the lack of grounds for this court decision: “In the court of first instance, the prosecution never mentioned any actions of extremist nature on my part... No quotes, no facts, no records, no casualties".

Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia, Vyacheslav Lebedev, at a meeting of judges of courts of general jurisdiction and arbitration said: “The increased standards for protecting the constitutional rights of citizens are provided by the explanations of the Supreme Court that actions that do not contain signs of extremism and consist solely in the exercise of the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including through the performance of religious rites and ceremonies, do not constitute a crime.”

The case of Zhelavskaya in Chelyabinsk

Case History
Olga Zhelavskaya from Chelyabinsk faced persecution for her faith in March 2019, when her apartment was searched as part of the case against Vladimir Suvorov. Two years later, investigator Aleksandr Chepenko opened a criminal case against the believer based on the testimony of the infiltrated agent Ruzayeva. Zhelavskaya was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. The unlawful actions, according to the investigation, consisted in the fact that the woman invited guests to her place, prayed and sang songs with her friends. While under investigation, in the fall of 2021, the believer suffered COVID-19 and a stroke. In August 2022, her case went to court. In April 2023, the believer was given a 2-year suspended sentence. An appeal in June 2023 upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Zhelavskaya
Olga

Criminal case

Region:
Chelyabinsk Region
Locality:
Chelyabinsk
Suspected of:
"acted out of religious motives" and participated in "collective worship consisting in successive performances of songs ... and prayers to Jehovah God, study and discussion of articles and religious texts" (from the decision to initiate criminal proceedings).
Court case number:
12202750030000018
Initiated:
August 31, 2021
Current case stage:
The verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Third Department for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-27/2023 (1-528/2022)
Court of First Instance:
Металлургический районный суд г. Челябинска
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Александр Шатский
Case History