Ilya Olenin and his wife, Natalya, after the verdict of the court of cassation. Chelyabinsk. June, 2023

Ilya Olenin and his wife, Natalya, after the verdict of the court of cassation. Chelyabinsk. June, 2023

Ilya Olenin and his wife, Natalya, after the verdict of the court of cassation. Chelyabinsk. June, 2023

Unjust Verdicts

Court of Сassation in Chelyabinsk Did Not Overturn the Verdict Against Ilya Olenin. He Was Given a Heavy Fine

Chelyabinsk Region

On June 7, 2023, the Seventh Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction upheld the verdict and appeal ruling against Ilya Olenin, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, who was fined 500,000 rubles for his faith.

In July 2022, the Snezhinsk City Court of the Chelyabinsk Region considered the participation of Ilya Olenin in the peaceful worship of Jehovah's Witnesses as organizing the activity of a banned religious organization. The court of appeal did not reverse this decision.

In his appeal, Olenin stated that he had not committed any crime: “During the trial, it was firmly established that my actions were in fact nothing more than an expression of my attitude towards religion, which does not lead to criminal liability, as emphasized by the RF Supreme Court.”

The believer drew the court's attention to the fact that meetings for worship, songs and prayers do not pose any danger to society. To find Olenin guilty, the prosecution would have had to prove that he had criminal intent. However, as the believer highlighted, there is no such evidence in the case materials.

In 2019, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking about the criminal prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, noted that this “creates a dangerous precedent and actually criminalizes the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses to freedom of religion or belief in Russia, which is contrary to the obligations of the state, arising from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights".

Case of Olenin in Snezhinsk

Case History
Ilya Olenin, a design engineer from Snezhinsk, was searched twice: in November 2020 as part of the case against Lyudmila Salikova and in October 2021 as part of the case against Olenin himself. Investigator of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Dmitry Zykov opened a criminal case against the believer for organizing the activities of an extremist organization because of talking about the Bible with neighbors and fellow believers. In addition, the charges are based on the testimony of V. Kotelnikova, who, on the instructions of the FSB, pretended to be interested in the Bible and kept a secret record of conversations with Jehovah’s Witnesses and their worship services. Olenin was under recognizance not to leave for 4.5 months. In May 2022, the case was submitted to the Snezhinskiy City Court. Three months later, Judge Oleg Klementyev found the believer guilty and fined him 500,000 rubles. In September 2022, the appeal upheld the verdict.
Timeline

Persons in case

Criminal case

Region:
Chelyabinsk Region
Locality:
Snezhinsk
Suspected of:
According to the investigation, he took active steps aimed at organizing the continuation of the illegal activities of a religious organization banned by the court and organized preaching activities
Court case number:
12102750030000025
Initiated:
September 8, 2021
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-72/2022
Court of First Instance:
Снежинский городской суд Челябинской области
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Олег Клементьев
Case History