A Jehovah’s Witness from Krasnodar Krai has been given a two-year suspended sentence.

On 31 July, the Vyselki District Court in Krasnodar Krai sentenced Vaselina Penskaya, a 27-year-old resident of Kuban, to a two-year suspended sentence for participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the portal 'Jehovah’s Witnesses: Legal Situation in Russia.'

According to the project, Penskaya faced religious persecution in February 2022, when searches were carried out at her home and at her mother’s home, Elena Rumyantseva. A year and four months later, Penskaya was named as a suspect in a criminal case, and added to the Rosfinmonitoring list.

The case against this Kuban resident was based on testimony from a secret witness, whose evidence is present in other cases against Jehovah’s Witnesses from the village of Vyselki—a locality in southern Russia. According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses portal, the man cooperated with the FSB and, since June 2022, had been secretly audio and video recording worship services. In court, however, he stated that he did not know Vaselina Penskaya and could not confirm her participation in the services.

In her closing statement, the woman emphasised:

'Freedom of conscience is a fundamental human right. My faith is my personal choice, and it poses no threat to society. I believe in God and try to live according to his commandments. This makes me a better person.'