The First Sentence for Jehovah's Witnesses in the Tver Region — Four Men Got Six Years in Prison

Jehovah's Witnesses Aleksandr Starikov, Aleksey Kuznetsov, Oleg Katamov and Aleksandr Shchetinin received 6 years in a penal colony for their faith. The Bibles taken from them in different translations will be destroyed. This decision was made on March 27, 2025 by the judge of the Konakovo City Court of the Tver Region Yekaterina Vershinina.

Before the verdict was announced, the court separated the case of Sergey Naumenko into another proceeding and suspended it.

In the summer of 2021, the FSB of Russia in the Tver region opened a criminal case against Aleksandr Starikov and Sergey Naumenko. They and other believers were searched. After the interrogation, the investigator took recognizance agreements from the men. Two years later, Oleg Katamov, Aleksey Kuznetsov and Aleksandr Shchetinin became the accused. The prosecutor considered discussing the Bible with fellow believers via videoconferencing and talking about Bible teachings with residents of Konakovo district to be organizing the activity of an extremist organization.

The believers were added to the Rosfinmonitoring list and their bank accounts were blocked. Criminal prosecution made it difficult for Aleksandr Starikov to take care of his seriously ill elderly father. He had to travel to Tver, 450 kilometers from home, to participate in investigative actions and trial. During the persecution, the believer's father died. The trial also made life difficult for Oleg Katamov. He takes care of his wife, who is fighting cancer.

The trial has been going on since October 2023. One of the witnesses for the prosecution was FSB officer Aleksandr Blinov, who participated in the search. During interrogation, he admitted that he had not heard any extremist statements from the defendants. He also confirmed that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited in Russia and that they can freely read the Bible, hold meetings and preach.

The defendants, who are between 35 and 64 years old, do not plead guilty to extremism. Aleksandr Starikov noted: "There are no people who would suffer because I read the Bible on my own or with fellow believers." In his final plea, the believer said: "My elderly father was very worried about me. Now he is gone. But despite the difficulties, none of us experience negative feelings, we learn understanding and love. My conscience is calm. There is no feeling of indignation in response to an unjust accusation. I am sure that a fair and loving judge, Jehovah God, sees and knows everything."

Eric Patterson, executive vice president of the Religious Freedom Institute and former dean of Regent University's Robertson School of Government, said, "Russia's continuing persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists' who threaten the country's national security is unfair and unwise. It contributes to an atmosphere of fear and social stagnation."