24 June 2024, 18:24
Three Elista Jehovah's Witnesses* sentenced conditionally
The Elista City Court has convicted three female Jehovah's Witnesses*: Kishta Tutinova has been sentenced to three years, Tsagan Khalgaeva and Ekaterina Menkova – to two years of conditional imprisonment each.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the state prosecution demanded longer conditional sentences for the three women.
The judge has reclassified the charge against Tutinova to a more lenient one. He has also assigned conditional sentences to Khalgaeva and Menkova below those demanded by the prosecution.
In March 2023, a court in Elista placed Tutinova under house arrest on charges of organizing extremist activities. Khalgaeva and Menkova were initially witnesses in her case, but in December 2023, they were accused of taking part in an extremist organization. None of those questioned in court confirmed that Tutinova, Khalgaeva and Menkova made any extremist statements. The case of Tutinova, Khalgaeva and Menkova became the first criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses* in Kalmykia after the decision of the Russian Supreme Court (SC) to liquidate religious organizations.
*396 Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as extremist, and their activities in Russia are banned by court's decision.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 24, 2024 at 10:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent
