A Second Appeal in Birobidzhan Left Unchanged Konstantin Guzev's Sentence: a Two-and-a-Half Year Suspended Sentence For Believing in Jehovah God
On March 14, 2022, the court of the Jewish Autonomous Region, presided by judge Angela Sizova, having considered the case of Konstantin Guzev, ruled to make minor changes to the sentence that do not change its essence.
The sentence was passed by the Birobidzhan District Court in February 2021. Judge Aleksey Ivaschenko sentenced Konstantin Guzev to a 2.5-year suspended sentence for participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2. Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code). In May 2021 the court of appeal confirmed the verdict for the believer, but seven months later the Ninth Court of Appeal of General jurisdiction cancelled this decision and returned the case for a new appeal hearing. That's what took place on March 14, 2022.
Konstantin's wife Anastasiya is among the seventeen Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan who have been convicted for believing in God. Six more believers are awaiting a court decision.