In Adygea, Appeal Upholds Sentence of Inver Siyukhov from Maykop—Six Years in Penal Colony. He Almost Served Entire Sentence in Detention Centre

The verdict to Inver Siyukhov entered into force—this decision was made by the Supreme Court of Adygea on March 10, 2025. The believer attended the hearing via video conferencing from the pre-trial detention center. By that time, he had spent almost four years there. Inver is expected to be released in a month.

Siyukhov sought to overturn the verdict due to numerous violations committed by the court of first instance. The believer had to wait for his appeal to be considered for a whole year. It noted: "The liturgical and other religious activities of I. R. Siyukhov do not constitute an event of a crime. He did not use the literature included in the federal list of extremist materials, it was not studied at the services held with his participation, and the prosecution did not prove otherwise." As for the testimony of witnesses for the prosecution, the complaint states: "They have nothing to do with reality and are fictitious from beginning to end, which was vividly confirmed in the court hearing . . . [but] has not received a proper legal assessment."

The Court of Appeal slightly changed the sentence only in terms of additional punishment—the ban on engaging in educational activities was reduced from 4 years to 1 year.

It takes many Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia years to prove their innocence in court, but in most cases to no avail. At the same time, human rights activists in Russia and abroad note that these people are persecuted solely because of their faith. "The fact that I. R. Siyukhov was convicted precisely for his religious beliefs follows very clearly from the circumstances underlying the court's verdict," said the believer's lawyer.