Court of Appeal in Nizhny Novgorod Upheld the Primary Punishment Against Four Believers. They Were Fined a Total of More Than 2,000,000 Rubles for Their Faith

On August 3, 2023, the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court upheld the conviction of Sergey Malyanov, his daughter Svetlana, as well as Roman Zhivolupov and Oleg Konshin for attending a get-together with fellow believers. The court additionally prohibited the believers from holding any positions in religious and public organizations for 2 years and 11 months.

As the primary punishment, Sergey was fined 700,000 rubles, Svetlana – 545,000 rubles, Roman – 500,000 rubles, and Oleg – 450,000 rubles.

Speaking before the court of appeal, Roman Zhivolupov noted: "For the entire time that the case was being considered, the prosecution did not give a clear answer as to what I did wrong, nor did they provide any evidence." Sergey Malyanov drew attention to the fact that, at the gathering held, they danced, sang children's songs and played games. The believer was perplexed: “Is buying sausage, cheese, fruit and water for the entertaining evening, financing an extremist activity? [...] The question arises: what if we again want to rent a room for a party? What then, from the point of view of the prosecution, should I do in order not to fall under criminal prosecution? Obtain a certificate that this event has nothing to do with the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia or the liquidated local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses? If yes, where can I get it? Or did the decision of the RF Supreme Court of April 20, 2017, prohibit Jehovah's Witnesses from spending time with friends? Neither from the prosecution, nor from the court of first instance, have I heard an answer”.

Despite the fact that the European Court of Human Rights has exonerated Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, local law enforcement agencies and courts continue to repress believers solely for their religious views.