Roman Gumenyuk, Son of One of Jehovah's Witnesses Convicted in Soviet Times and Later Rehabilitated, Received a 5-Year Suspended Sentence for His Faith. He Maintains His Innocence

On November 19, 2024, Marina Zelenina, judge of the Korsakov City Court, gave Roman Gumenyuk, 42, a 5-year suspended sentence. The court considered participating in peaceful worship and conversations about God with other people to be participating in the activity of an extremist organization and involving others in it.

As additional punishment, the court sentenced the believer to restriction of freedom for 2 years with a 3-year probation period. The verdict has not entered into force and can be appealed.

Roman Gumenyuk is a third-generation Jehovah's Witness. In Soviet times, his father was sentenced to 3 years in prison for his religious beliefs but was later rehabilitated as a victim of political repression.

Now Roman is also facing criminal prosecution. It all started in July 2023, when Major of Justice E. V. Maksimov initiated a criminal case against him under Article 282.2(2) of the RF CrC. Later, law enforcement officers searched his house and his car. The investigation lasted a year, and in June 2024, the case went to court. In his closing arguments the prosecutor requested 5 years in a penal colony for the defendant. During the court hearing, Roman tried to express his view of the charges, but the judge interrupted his statement. The court found the believer guilty of extremism in seven sessions.

The believer maintains his innocence. In his final statement, he expressed his feelings as follows: "For me, believing in and worshiping Jehovah God is like breathing. Law enforcement agencies, represented by investigators, FSB officers, the prosecutor and others, are trying, figuratively speaking, to cut off my oxygen... by making me renounce my best friend, God whose name is Jehovah."

In the Sakhalin Region, already 10 people are being prosecuted for their faith in Jehovah God. Back in June 2018, the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights commented on the situation surrounding Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia: "The charges brought against believers in all cases are based on the allegation that a group of believers held a meeting for worship. [...] This cannot but cause concern, since criminal prosecutions and arrests have become systemic. The situation is reminiscent of the Soviet period, when "Jehovah's Witnesses" were subjected to groundless repression on the basis of religion, as a result of which the RF law dated October 18, 1991, No. 1761-1, on the rehabilitation of victims of political repression, was extended to them."