Six Years in a Penal Colony for "Expressing Gratitude" at Religious Meetings. Court Convicts Two of Jehovah's Witnesses in Crimea

The Gagarinsky District Court sentenced Viktor Kudinov and Sergey Zhigalov to 6 years in a penal colony. This verdict was announced on January 14, 2025, by Judge Sergey Korotun. He named holding worship services permitted by law extremism. More than 100 people came to the courthouse to support the believers.

According to the defense, Kudinov and Zhigalov were unreasonably equated with criminals. The indictment states that the defendants participated "in the organization and conduct of [worship services], which is expressed in setting tasks for other participants, challenging participants to answer, as well as in the subsequent expression of gratitude for these answers." Sergey Zhigalov, 53, denied the charges in his final statement: "The video from the services is proof that I love my brothers and sisters in faith, worship God peacefully and fulfill his commandment 'let us not leave our congregation . . . but let us encourage one another" recorded in the Bible."

In August 2022, searches were carried out in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Sevastopol. Sergey Zhigalov and Viktor Kudinov were detained, placed under house arrest, and later under a ban on certain actions. Senior investigator of the Investigative Committee M.E. Ukrainskiy opened criminal cases against the men, which were merged 5 months later. The prosecution line is based on the testimony of a secret witness Nadezhda Dykman under the pseudonym Ivanova. Another witness for the prosecution is S. B. Korkushko. According to Zhigalov, this man has been testifying in various cases against Crimean Jehovah's Witnesses for five years, but at the same time he does not know him personally.

During the closed court hearings, the defense drew the court's attention to the fact that the religious examination was made with violations. For example, the sources used by the expert are not scientific. Also, according to the defenders, the conclusion contains negative assessments of the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, which go beyond the competence of the expert.

Viktor Kudinov, 55, is a well-known citizen of Sevastopol. At one of the hearings, the defense filed a motion to attach to the case the signatures of more than 100 colleagues in his defense. Victor shared, "I was a little worried that I would be fired. But when I returned from house arrest, I was greeted with great joy at work. They hugged, supported, questioned. Many employees from other faiths said they prayed for my well-being."

Sergey Zhigalov also has a good reputation. During the hearings, the court was provided with a description of the believer from a deputy of the local legislative assembly: "In communication, he is kind, not aggressive, very neat, has no bad habits. He participated in the improvement of the district. I know [him] as a decent, honest, non-confrontational person."

Six years ago, the Presidential Council for Human Rights asked the Prosecutor General's Office to protect the constitutional right of Jehovah's Witnesses to freedom of religion and to stop persecution for reading the Bible together and holding worship services. However, the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses is gaining momentum. In Crimea alone, in the last two years, the number of defendants has doubled, from 16 to 32. Eleven believers were sent to penal colonies for long terms.