In May 2018, the city of Birobidzhan hosted a special FSB operation with the participation of 150 security officials, code-named "Judgement Day". More than 20 families of Jehovah's Witnesses have become victims of criminal prosecution, including Alam Aliyev, Valeriy Kriger, Sergey Shulyarenko, and Dmitriy Zagulin. The believers were accused of holding joint worship services, which the investigation considered to be the organization of the activities of the extremist organization and its financing. They spent more than 5 months in the pre-trial detention center. In November 2020, the case went to court. The hearings lasted more than 2 years, and in December 2022, the court sentenced Dmitriy Zagulin to 3 years and 6 months, Alam Aliyev to 6 years and 6 months, and Sergey Shulyarenko and Valeriy Kriger to 7 years in prison. The appeal confirmed the terms of Zagulin and Aliyev, and reduced those of Shulyarenko and Krieger by 3 months. The court of cassation upheld the verdict in March 2024. The wives of the three convicts were also prosecuted:
Svetlana Monis, Tatyana Zagulina and
Natalya Kriger. In September 2023, Sergey Shulyarenko's wedding took place in the colony.