On February 14, 2024, the Promyshlenniy District Court of Smolensk convicted Sisters Tatyana Galkevich and Valentina Vladimirova. They each received a suspended prison sentence of two years. They are not required to go to prison at this time.
Time Line
May 14, 2019
Authorities initiated a criminal investigation against Tatyana and Valentina. Police searched the apartments of both sisters and detained and interrogated them for more than 48 hours. Although both suffer from chronic health problems, they were sent to a pretrial detention center
November 22, 2019
After more than six months, Tatyana and Valentina were released from pretrial detention and transferred to house arrest
December 31, 2019
Valentina was taken to the hospital after her health deteriorated
August 6, 2020
After some eight months, Tatyana was released from house arrest and ordered not to leave her hometown. Valentina remained under house arrest, where she is only allowed to communicate with one close relative and an attorney
October 2, 2020
Authorities indicted Tatyana and Valentina in a 400-page document. It accused the sisters of conspiring to “conceal the activities of an extremist organization”
October 14, 2020
During a preliminary hearing, a judge ordered that the case be returned to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation because of inadmissible evidence. Although Valentina was unable to stand during the hearing because of her health, the court refused to release her from house arrest
February 25, 2021
An appeals court reversed the decision to return the case to the prosecutor’s office, allowing the trial to proceed
Profiles
Our prayer is that Jehovah continues serving as ‘a strength and a shield’ for Valentina, Tatyana, and all of our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted in Russia and Crimea.—Psalm 28:7.
