Court Considered One More Peaceful Believer From Karachay-Cherkessia an Extremist. Svetlana Ogoreva Got Suspended Term

Three years suspended - this punishment was imposed by the Zelenchukskiy District Court on October 1, 2025 to 41-year-old Svetlana Ogoreva from Mednogorskiy. Attending peaceful meetings for worship and talking about faith was enough to find the woman guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization.

In her appeal to Judge Fatima Borlakova, Svetlana noted: "Although my health has suffered greatly from this unfair and illegal criminal prosecution, I feel the support of my God and friends and I am sure that whatever the outcome of this case, I will continue to feel this support. [...] And I'm sure if my dad were alive, he would be proud of me. After all, I am not standing before the court for a bad deed, but for my faith in God."

After the death of her father, Svetlana moved to live with her widowed mother. In November 2021, the family's home was searched, followed by a second two years later. At first, Svetlana was a witness in the case of Aleksey Pasynkov, but then the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against her.

Due to the stress experienced, Svetlana began to have heart problems. An additional source of anxiety was the criminal case against her mother, Mariya, an elderly woman, who is also on trial for her faith. She has to go to court hearings located 80 kilometers from home. Svetlana said that friends help them cope with difficulties. For example, one of the friends calls regularly, and others living in St. Petersburg have sent a parcel with treats.

Svetlana categorically disagrees with the accusations of extremism. "As for maintaining contacts with fellow believers, religion from the standpoint of the Bible cannot exist in a state of chaos, believers cannot be separated from each other and act separately. Otherwise, divisions will begin, and the religion itself, that is, a specific confession, will cease to exist," she said.

Neighbors spoke in support of Svetlana, providing the court with positive characteristics. According to them, she is kind to others, leads a healthy lifestyle. One of the neighbors said that Svetlana worked for her as a nanny. "I have known her since childhood as a very friendly, not scandalous, kind, without bad habits girl. She is responsive, polite, sociable," the woman said. Another neighbor wrote: "My children love her very much. She makes contests, games for children."

Mednogorskiy is a small village in the Urupskiy District of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic with a population of less than 5500 people. In addition to Svetlana and Mariya Ogoreva, four other believers were persecuted here.