Appeal Court in Birobidzhan Toughens the Sentence for YYelena Reyno-Chernyshova for Her Faith. The Fine was Replaced with a Suspended Sentence

On April 22, 2021, the court of the Jewish Autonomous Region dismissed the appeal of Yelena Reyno-Chernyshova and satisfied the appeal of the prosecutor by toughening her sentence to 2.5 years of probation and 1 year of restraint.

The verdict for allegedly participating in the activities of an extremist organization came into force. The believer still insists on her innocence. She has the right to appeal the verdict in cassation, as well as in international instances.

Two months earlier, Yelena was convicted by the judge of the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region Vladimir Mikhalev. The prosecutor asked for a real term of imprisonment of 4 years, but the court sentenced the believer to a fine of 10,000 rubles. After that, Reyno-Chernyshova appealed against the verdict in a higher court. The deputy prosecutor of Birobidzhan A.A. Vyalkov also submitted an appeal, considering the verdict, on the contrary, too lenient.

During the debate in the court of appeal, the believer noted: “After the verdict was passed, my relatives, acquaintances and colleagues immediately asked me if I would appeal or plead guilty, and I would agree with such a punishment because it was small. But the point here is not how much was awarded, but that I am innocent. How can I agree with the verdict if I have not done anything illegal?”

At the appeal stage, the prosecution continued to insist on the need to deprive Yelena Reyno-Chernyshova of her freedom for 4 years, arguing that the woman “needs to be corrected”. However, no evidence of her illegal activities was provided.

“What do I need to correct !?” Yelena wondered at the hearing. “I try to live in harmony with the principle ‘to love God and your neighbor, not in words, but in deeds.’ How can you be an extremist by living up to these commandments?”

Yelena Reyno-Chernyshova has been under recognizance agreement for over a year and a half. Due to criminal prosecution, she was fired from her job and her accounts were blocked. The hardships experienced undermined the health of the whole family: Yelena's husband was recently diagnosed with a serious illness, and her mother's heart problems worsened.

Yelena is one of 23 defendants in criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan. The persecution of these peaceful civilians began after “Operation Doomsday.” To date, the courts of the Jewish Autonomous Region have already approved four convictions.

The groundlessness of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia has been repeatedly emphasized by Russian and foreign scholars and human rights activists. Historian Aleksandr Guryanov, during a recent roundtable dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jehovah's Witnesses to Siberia, noted: “There is some particular bitterness on the part of the government towards this particular confession.”