Svetlana Monis with her husband Alam Aliyev. November 2022
Court of Cassation Again Rejected the Appeal Against the Verdict of Svetlana Monis From Birobidzhan. She Will Continue to Serve Her Suspended Sentence
Jewish Autonomous AreaOn October 18, 2023, the Ninth Court of Cassation of Vladivostok upheld the verdict and decision of the court of appeal against Svetlana Monis, 46, — a 2.5-year suspended sentence.
This is already the second hearing in the Ninth Court of Cassation in Vladivostok. In 2019, Monis was accused of extremism for reading the Bible, singing religious songs, and praying with friends. The court of first instance imposed a fine. The court of appeal toughened the sentence, but the court of cassation overturned this decision.
Then the court of cassation directed that the court of appeal reconsider the case and take into account explanation No.11 of the RF Supreme Court Plenum, freedom of religion as guaranteed within the RF Constitution (Article 28), as well as Comment 2 to Article 282.1 of the RF CrC, according to which extremism means, in particular, a crime "committed on the grounds of... religious hatred or enmity." No evidence of such actions on the part of Svetlana Monis was presented during the investigation or trial. Also, her activity does not correspond to the description of extremism stated in Article 1 of the Federal Law "On Counteracting Extremist Activity".
Despite this, the court of appeal returned the case to the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, which gave the believer a 2.5-year suspended sentence. At the third appeal hearing this decision was upheld.
Already 23 Jehovah's Witnesses from the Jewish Autonomous Region have been prosecuted simply for their faith. Four of them, including Svetlana's husband, Alam Aliyev, are serving their sentences in a penal colony.