Galina Komissarova with her friends in front of the Samara Regional Court building

Galina Komissarova with her friends in front of the Samara Regional Court building

Galina Komissarova with her friends in front of the Samara Regional Court building

Unjust Verdicts

Court of Appeal Upheld Suspended Sentence for Teacher from Tolyatti for Reading the Bible

Samara Region

On November 1, 2024, the Samara Regional Court upheld the verdict against 63-year-old Galina Komissarova: a 2-year suspended sentence. The prosecutor insisted on a prison term for the pensioner from Tolyatti.

Speaking before the panel of judges at the court of appeal, Galina Komissarova expressed her disagreement with the charges: "I only participated in meetings for worship that do not contain signs of extremism and, therefore, are not a crime... All I feel is pain and regret because of the injustice of the serious charges brought against me." Galina considers what is happening to her to be political repression.

Religious persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Samara Region continues despite the clarifications of the RF Constitutional Court on freedom of conscience and religion.

The Case of Komissarova in Tolyatti

Case History
One early morning of September 2023, Galina Komissarova, a resident of Tolyatti, was woken up by a loud knock on the door. Officers of the Investigative Committee, who came to search her home, said that a criminal case had been initiated against her for participating in meetings for worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Following the search, Komissarova was taken for interrogation, after which she was made to sign a recognizance agreement. Due to the stress she experienced, Galina was hospitalized with a hypertensive crisis. In October 2023, the case went to court. The prosecutor requested 4 years in a penal colony. The court gave the pensioner a 2-year suspended sentence. The court of appeal upheld the decision in November.
Timeline

Persons in case

Komissarova
Galina

Criminal case

Region:
Samara Region
Locality:
Tolyatti
Suspected of:
"with the use of conspiracy measures, including the use of a video conferencing... participated in joint religious worship, consisting of a regular study and discussion of the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses" (from the decision to charge her)
Court case number:
12302360032000362
Initiated:
September 7, 2023
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Tsentralnyy Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-90/2024 (1-662/2023)
Court of First Instance:
Tsentralnyy District Court of Tolyatti
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yelena Laskina
Case History
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