Sergey Klimov Released From the Penal Colony in the City of Astrakhan; He Has Served His Sentence

On July 26, 2023, Sergey Klimov was released from the penal colony where he served a sentence for his belief in Jehovah God. Sergey's relatives and many friends met him with flowers and signs. The believer spent a total of five years behind bars.

Sergey was detained and placed in a pre-trial detention center back in June 2018 after searches in the city of Tomsk. In April 2020, when the appellate court upheld the sentence—six years in a general regime penal colony—Klimov was transferred to Astrakhan Penal Colony No. 8 after the announcement of the verdict. Since one day in pre-trial detention counted as a day and a half in the general regime penal colony, Sergey spent three and a half years in the penal colony after the verdict was announced.

During his imprisonment, Sergey's eyesight deteriorated. In October 2020, doctors discovered that he had a serious lung problem, and the believer spent a month and a half in a medical correctional facility.

Sergey was not able see his wife for his first nine months behind bars; until then, they communicated over the phone. Sergey received hundreds of letters from fellow believers from different cities and countries.

At present, 127 of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia (including seven women) are imprisoned for their faith. The ECHR and human rights activists from different countries call on the Russian Federation to stop mass repressions against believers.