A Jehovah’s Witness from Kurgan, a city in the Urals, has been fined 300,000 roubles (US$3,300).

The Kurgan City Court has sentenced Jehovah’s Witness Irina Kamshilova to a fine of 300,000 roubles (approx. US$3,250) on charges of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (Article 282.2, Part 2 of the Criminal Code), reports the website “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal situation in Russia.”

The prosecutor requested a three and a half year sentence in a general regime colony for her.

The believer did not admit guilt.

“All my actions were completely peaceful. The prosecution does not allege that I incited violence or religious hatred and enmity… I had every right to meet to discuss the Bible and to socialise,” she said in court.

The case against the believer was opened in May 2024. The Investigative Committee considered online meetings with other believers to discuss biblical topics, as well as singing hymns and praying, as participation in the activities of an extremist organisation. After a search and interrogation at the FSB, the woman was released under travel restrictions.

Security forces had visited the believer with a search even before the criminal case was initiated against her. Investigative actions were first carried out in her home in 2021.

The website “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal situation in Russia” notes that in recent years the believer has developed heart disease and has also been diagnosed with leukaemia.