Appeal in Birobidzhan Approved the Sentence for Faith for Nataliya Kriger

On November 25, 2021, the Court of Jewish Autonomous Region approved the sentence of Nataliya Kriger, 43, who was sentenced to 2.5 years of suspended imprisonment and 1 year of restricted freedom for participating in the activities of an extremist organization.

On July 30, 2021 Birobidzhan District Court found Nataliya Kriger guilty after considering as a crime her presence at the worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses, although this faith is not banned in Russia. The prosecutor asked the court to send the believer to a penal colony for four years and to further restrict her freedom for two years.

Addressing the court with her last word, Nataliya said: "What did the court find extremist? That I professed religious beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses with my husband and friends. However, according to Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone is guaranteed freedom of conscience, freedom of religion. . . . Only Holy Scriptures—the Bible—taught me to truly love people and genuinely care about them. Today my reputation as an honest person is tarnished."

The verdict of the appellate court went into effect, but the believer has the right to appeal it in cassation and international instances.

In 2018, Nataliya's husband, Valeriy Kriger, was also prosecuted under an extremist article. The investigation found him guilty of organizing the activities of a banned organization.

Seventeen of Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan have already been convicted for practicing their faith, and for thirteen of them the sentence has come into force. The Birobidzhan District Court is currently hearing cases on similar charges against six other believers.

On October 28 this year the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that collective religious services of Jehovah's Witnesses do not by themselves constitute corpus delicti under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of Russia.