The Supreme Court in Crimea Overturned the Sentences of Four Jehovah's Witnesses. The Men Were Released From the Pre-trial Detention Center, but the Trial Will Start Over

On March 22, 2024, the Supreme Court of Crimea overturned the sentence against Taras Kuzo, Petr Zhiltsov, Sergey Lyulin and Taras's wife, Darya Kuzo. The men were released from the pre-trial detention center, their measure of restraint was replaced with a ban on certain actions, the measure of restraint for Darya remained the same - an undertaking not to leave. The case was sent for a new trial in a different composition of the court.

Earlier, the Yalta City Court sentenced Taras Kuzo to 6 years and 6 months, Petr Zhiltsov to 6 years and 1 month, Sergey Lyulin to 6 years in a general regime colony. Darya Kuzo received a 3-year suspended sentence. The verdict was appealed. The defense of the defendants in the appeal emphasized that there was no evidence that the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses were extremist in nature. The practice of this religion is not prohibited in the Russian Federation.

Addressing the court before the appeal decision, Darya Kuzo told what her family had to endure during the persecution: "My young children survived three terrible searches carried out by armed men; my husband's mother simply had a cardiac arrest due to [stress] on November 14, 2023, we were included in the list of Rosfinmonitoring as extremists, and all our bank accounts were blocked..."

Taras and Darya Kuzo with their children. March 2024

"In the case, there are only vague formulations about extremism, which is absolutely alien to us. We have never shown hatred or enmity towards people. Jehovah's Witnesses are known throughout the world as peaceful people. We are judged only because we live and believe as the Greatest Teacher, Jesus Christ, taught. I have been one of Jehovah's Witnesses for 23 years, I have lived by God's highest moral standards as set forth in the Bible, and I have seen how the application of these principles has made our family strong and happy for 15 years. It's been almost a year since we were separated [from Taras], and my children and I are experiencing severe pain from this. I really want our children to grow up in a full-fledged family as mentally and emotionally stable people," Darya summed up, asking the court to make a fair decision.

To date, 30 Jehovah's Witnesses in Crimea are being prosecuted solely for their religious beliefs. 9 of them are already serving sentences - from 6 to 6.5 years - in correctional colonies.