A Jehovah’s Witness from Karachay-Cherkessia, a republic in the North Caucasus, has been given a suspended sentence.

The Khabez District Court in Karachay-Cherkessia has handed a five-year suspended sentence to Jehovah’s Witness Yulia Pasynkova, who was accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 2, Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the website “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal Situation in Russia.”

The 34-year-old believer was sentenced on 16 September.

“It is unnatural—to be persecuted for believing in God,” said Pasynkova.

According to the investigation, her participation in the activities of an extremist organisation allegedly involved taking part remotely in “individual sessions, meetings—collective religious services.”

The believer’s mother-in-law, Tatyana Pasynkova, is currently on trial under the same article. In January, Pasynkova’s husband, Aleksei Pasynkov, was convicted on similar charges and received a six-year suspended sentence.

Jehovah’s Witnesses note that the Pasynkovs are raising a son with a disability, which means he cannot be left alone. During the trial, Yulia had to travel 150 kilometres (around 93 miles) to court from home. “Sometimes I only managed to sleep for three hours to make it there by ten in the morning. When I got back, my son would hug me for hours. In the morning, he might cry for a long time because he didn’t see me,” she said.

Over the past four years, the Pasynkovs have had their home searched three times. Last year, security forces also visited both the couple and the mother-in-law.