Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Searches in Moscow Region. Zvenigorod — Law Enforcement Officers Carry Out Raid Against Jehovah’s Witnesses

Moscow Region

On December 10, 2025, in Zvenigorod, Moscow Region, raids were carried out at at least four addresses. Several people were interogated. A criminal case was initiated against Jehovah's Witness Aleksandr Paysov, who is now in pretrial detention.

At around 6 a.m., Investigative Committee officers, led by Sergey Zagibalov, broke into the home of Aleksandr Paysov and his mother. They seized personal notes and electronic devices. Aleksandr was detained, leaving his 86-year-old mother alone without any means of communication.

The next day, the court sent Aleksandr Paysov to detention center No. 2 in Volokolamsk. He works as a postal worker and is known as a responsible and peaceful person.

At another address, a search was conducted without the owners' knowledge: the lock was broken, evidence that people had been were visible, and a crowbar was left behind in the yard.

In the Moscow Region, law enforcement agencies have initiated criminal cases against at least nine Jehovah's Witnesses, four of whom have received suspended sentences.

The Case of Paysov in Zvenigorod

Case History
In December 2025, in Zvenigorod near Moscow, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against an elderly man, Aleksandr Paysov, accusing him of participating in the activities of a banned organization. Following searches and interrogations, a court ordered the believer to be placed in pre‑trial detention, leaving his elderly mother — a woman with a disability — without her son’s support.
Timeline

Persons in case

Paysov
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Moscow Region
Locality:
Zvenigorod
Suspected of:
“…engaged in unlawful missionary activity, expressed in teaching prayer to Jehovah God, explaining a number of basic tenets of the doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and familiarizing others with religious events and the history of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization…” (from the decision to open a criminal case)
Court case number:
12502460008000211
Initiated:
October 12, 2025
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the City of Odintsovo of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2)
Case History
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