The Court in Rostov-on-Don Gave Olga Ganusha a 2-Year Suspended Sentence for the Bible Discussions

On July 13, 2021, the judge of the Voroshilovsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, Viktor Trofimov, convicted 60-year-old Olga Ganusha for “participating in the activities of a banned organization”. She was given 2 years suspended with a probationary period of 1.5 years.

The believer insists on her complete innocence. Speaking with her last word in court, she said: "As far west is from the east, so far I am from extremism." The verdict can be appealed.

Although there is not a single victim in the case, the prosecutor asked the court to impose a sentence of 3 years of suspended imprisonment, 3 years of probation and 1 year of restrictions on the believer. The accusation was based on information that, while remaining Jehovah's Witness, the woman invited fellow believers to her home, and also, talking with her friends on the phone, raised religious topics. But none of these actions are prohibited by Russian law. Moreover, the 28th article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees every citizen the right to freely profess his religion together with others or to spread his religious beliefs. Nevertheless, the court found Olga guilty of extremism.

The criminal prosecution affected the health of the believer. “My life was divided into before and after the search,” she says. “I got fear when I suddenly heard a knock on the door, my sleep is disrupted.” For almost a year Olga was restricted in her movements, as she was under recognizance not to leave, and was forced to come to court several times a month to defend her legal right to freedom of religion.

The criminal prosecution of the believer began with mass searches and detentions on May 22, 2019. On that morning, law enforcement officials raided at least 15 homes of local Jehovah's Witnesses. Vilen and Arsen Avanesovs , as well as Aleksandr Parkov, were arrested. About two weeks later, criminal cases were opened against Aleksandr's wife, Galina , and two more women - Lyudmila Ponomarenko and Olga Ganusha.

The investigation into the case of Olga Ganusha lasted more than a year and a half. The prosecution provided the court with data obtained from a hidden video camera, which the investigators installed in the believer's apartment.

Olga Ganusha became the fifth resident of the Rostov region, in respect of whom the courts have already passed sentences for believing in Jehovah. All believers received various suspended sentences.

The international community, as well as human rights activists in Russia itself, have an extremely negative attitude towards the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. In particular, Vladimir Ryakhovskiy , a member of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, makes a disappointing prediction: “[The infringement of freedoms] always began with Jehovah's Witnesses, and then affected everyone.”