A court in Tolyatti Sent Aleksandr Chagan to a Penal Colony for Eight Years for Believing in Jehovah God

On February 29, 2024, the judge of the Central District Court of Tolyatti, Viktoriya Gorbasheva, found Aleksandr Chagan guilty of organizing the activities of an extremist organization and sentenced him to 8 years in prison. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom.

In one session, the parties were debated, Chagan made his last plea, and on the same day the verdict was passed. As an additional punishment, the court banned the believer from participating in activities related to religious organizations for 3 years and restricted his freedom for 1 year. Aleksandr pleads not guilty.

Chagan faced persecution for his faith in March 2022, when his home was searched for the first time. In September of the same year, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the believer on charges of extremism, and the Chagan family underwent a second search. In July 2023, the case went to court.

A total of 10 Jehovah's Witnesses are being prosecuted on similar charges in the Samara Region. Four men were sentenced to 7 years in prison for believing in Jehovah God, and a woman was sentenced to 2 years of forced labor.

"Extremism is an extreme manifestation of hatred," Aleksandr said in his last plea. "Today, computer games with military themes are common, but for some reason such games are not considered as extremism. And the peaceful activities of believers, who first of all teach how to solve problems and conflicts peacefully, are considered as extremism, and an attempt is made to present it in a sinister way".