In Prokopyevsk, Yelena Chernykh, One of Jehovah's Witnesses, Was Given a 3-year Suspended Sentence for Her Faith. Earlier, the Same Court Had Convicted Her Husband

Yelena Chernykh, a 47-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Prokopyevsk, was found guilty of extremism for continuing to practice her faith. The corresponding verdict was passed on April 12, 2024 by the judge of the Tsentralniy District Court of Prokopyevsk, Yelena Karamova, who sentenced the believer to 3 years of suspended imprisonment.

In 2020, Yelena and her husband Yuriy, parents of three children, one of whom is a minor, were searched, after which they were interrogated as witnesses in the case of Andrey Vlasov (now he is serving time in a colony for his faith). The Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region opened a criminal case against Yelena under Part 2 of Article 282.2. of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The investigation and the court considered the usual practice for all Jehovah's Witnesses in the world of joint discussions of the Bible and Christian teachings "participation in the activities of a banned religious organization." According to the investigation, Yelena's actions posed a threat to the state and society, incited interreligious discord, although during the trial not a single fact of a real crime or evidence of intention to commit it was presented.

Speaking in court with the final statement, Yelena Chernykh said: "I have been a believer for 30 years. For all these years, I have never had any malicious intent, let alone any actions aimed at undermining the constitutional order or security of the Russian Federation."

In September 2023, based on similar charges, the court sentenced Yelena's husband to 3 years of forced labor.

In the Kemerovo region, 18 Jehovah's Witnesses are persecuted for their faith. Two of them are serving sentences in a penal colony for their faith.