Natalya Voropaeva

Natalya Voropaeva

Natalya Voropaeva

Unjust Verdicts

Natalya Voropaeva from Krasnoyarsk Will Pay a Fine of 360,000 Rubles for Her Faith in Jehovah God. The Court of Appeal Upheld the Verdict

Krasnoyarsk Territory

On May 25, 2023, the Krasnoyarsk Regional Court upheld the verdict against Natalya Voropaeva. She will pay a fine of 360,000 rubles for her faith in God, but has the right to appeal this decision in the cassation procedure.

Natalya Voropaeva explained why she considers the verdict of the Zheleznodorozhny District Court in Krasnoyarsk dated March 24, 2023 to be unfounded: “The charges are contradictory, vague and based on assumptions. The verdict does not contain any statements of an extremist nature made by me, and the materials of the case confirm this.” The believer also pointed out that her mere participation in meetings for worship was evidence enough of her guilt for the court of first instance. In particular, the court considered her short comments about trust in the Bible, belief in the resurrection of the dead, and the need to remain faithful in marriage as extremism.

The defense emphasized that the court did not heed the clarifications of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of October 28, 2021, according to which, in the event of the liquidation of a religious association, believers can continue to practice their religion and their meetings for worship should not constitute a crime.

Natalya Voropaeva faced religious repression in 2018, when her home was searched as part of a criminal case against Andrey Stupnikov. In the fall of 2022, she herself became a defendant. After only 4 months of investigations and 2 months of trial, she was convicted.

Discrimination against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is a matter of serious concern for human rights activists. On June 7, 2022, the ECHR called on the Russian authorities to stop criminal prosecution of the believers and to release the prisoners.

The case of Voropaeva in Krasnoyarsk

Case History
In November 2017, law enforcement officers in Krasnoyarsk began operational search measures against local Jehovah’s Witnesses: their telephone conversations were tapped, electronic messages were viewed, and hidden audio recordings of worship services were made. Secret informants were involved in the events. A year later, Natalya Voropaeva’s house was searched as part of a criminal case against her co-religionist Andrei Stupnikov. In September 2022, the Investigative Committee prosecuted Natalya Voropaeva as a defendant under an extremist article. She was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave. In January 2023, the case went to court, and 2 months later she was found guilty. The court imposed a fine of 360,000 rubles on her. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Voropaeva
Natalya

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Locality:
Krasnoyarsk
Suspected of:
"directly participated in meetings ... reading and discussing texts from the Bible ... in the performance of religious chants and prayers..." (from the decision to prosecute)
Court case number:
12202040002000060
Initiated:
September 5, 2022
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the Zheleznodorozhniy District for the City of Krasnoyarsk of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-93/2023
Court of First Instance:
Zheleznodorozhniy District Court of the City of Krasnoyarsk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Ivan Ivanov
Case History
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