Rustam Diarov, Imprisoned for His Faith, Now Released Early and Expelled From the Country

A long prison term for his faith, the loss of citizenship, and a cancer diagnosis are only part of the hardships Rustam Diarov faced during more than five years of persecution. On 17 February 2026, the Privolzhskiy District Court of Kazan granted early release to the 52‑year‑old believer on health grounds, but that same evening he was deported to his country of birth. During the night of 18 February, Rustam and his wife, Yelena, arrived in Uzbekistan.

"I'm very tired — the court hearing, the release, the flight to another country," the believer said upon arriving at the Tashkent airport. "But I am deeply grateful to Jehovah and to everyone who supported me — my wife, my friends, including those who wrote letters and came for visits."

Rustam Diarov had been behind bars since June 2020. The court sentenced him to eight years in prison for peaceful meetings and discussions of the Bible.

"For five years and eight months my wife and I couldn't communicate normally," Rustam shared. "Before all this, every day we had deep, meaningful conversations, and we really missed that kind of trusting communication. We hope to make up for that in the near future."

In February of last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Orenburg Region launched the process of revoking Rustam Diarov's Russian citizenship. When he applied for citizenship in 2007, he openly stated on the form that he was one of Jehovah's Witnesses — at the time, the religion was officially registered in Russia. Eighteen years later, the Ministry claimed that Rustam had provided "knowingly false information" when he affirmed his willingness to comply with the Constitution and the law. "It's as if he was expected to foresee that years later the legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses would be liquidated in Russia and that he would be convicted for ordinary religious activity," the believer's lawyer commented on the police's reasoning. Rustam tried to challenge the decision to annul his citizenship, but unsuccessfully. The Leninskiy District Court of Orenburg upheld the Ministry's position.

Amid all this, another struggle was unfolding in Diarov's life: while in detention his chronic illnesses sharply worsened, and in September 2025 he was hospitalized. Three months later, Rustam was diagnosed with a malignant tumor with complications. A medical commission concluded that the colony could no longer provide adequate medical care; doctors assessed his condition as serious. His treatment will now continue in Uzbekistan.

Rustam's mother and his wife are both Russian citizens. Yelena has a disability. Rustam's mother also suffers from a serious illness and needs support.

At least 12 Jehovah's Witnesses have been stripped of Russian citizenship in the context of religious persecution. Among those expelled from Russia are Felix Makhamadiev, Konstantin Bazhenov, and Rustam Seidkuliev.