Unjust Verdicts

"I am not ashamed of the way I have lived this chapter." One of Jehovah's Witnesses, Sergey Fedorov, Sentenced to 6 Years in Penal Colony for His Faith in God

Samara Region,   Karelia

On July 22, 2026, the Avtozavodskiy District Court of Tolyatti announced the verdict against Sergey Fedorov, 52. He was found guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization and sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment. By this time, the believer had already spent more than 2 years in a pretrial detention center.

In March 2024, nine law enforcement officers burst into the Fedorovs' apartment in Tolyatti: Sergey was handcuffed and struck on the head. During the search, printed publications from the list of extremist materials were planted in the property. Fedorov was taken 2,000 km away to Petrozavodsk "to provide an explanation." The investigation was conducted by the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Karelia, but the trial was held in Tolyatti under the authority of Judge Natalya Chernova.

"I believe that in time everything will be put right, sooner or later justice will prevail, and all the innocent will be acquitted by human court or by God's court," Sergey said in his final statement.

At the end of his statement in court, Fedorov said: "This case is just one chapter. There is still an entire book to come. I am not ashamed of the way I have lived this chapter."

The Case of Fedorov in Petrozavodsk

Case History
Sergey Fedorov and his wife first came to the attention of law enforcement officers in the summer of 2019 — a search of their home was conducted. About 5 years later, FSB officers came to them again: under the pretext of only inspecting their residence, they searched their apartment in Tolyatti; they put handcuffs on Sergey, struck him on the head, and planted banned literature. The believer was taken 2,000 km away to Petrozavodsk “to provide an explanation.” In June 2024, a criminal case was initiated against Fedorov for organizing the activity of an extremist organization. A third search of his home was conducted, and he was placed in a pretrial detention center. In September 2025, the case went to court. In July 2026, the court issued a verdict — 6 years in a penal colony.
Timeline

Persons in case

Fedorov
Sergey

Criminal case

Region:
Karelia
Locality:
Petrozavodsk
Suspected of:
"Performed... informational, organizational and control functions... by regularly inspecting the activity of the religious groups, located in the region, formed by the Center, checking the effectiveness of religious groups in organizing religious education and mentoring of followers" (from the ruling to make the criminal case into separate proceedings)
Court case number:
12407860001000026
Initiated:
June 6, 2024
Current case stage:
verdict did not take effect
Investigating:
FSB Directorate of Russia for the Republic of Karelia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-268/2026 (1-1006/2025)
Court of First Instance:
Avtozavodskiy District Court of Tolyatti
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Natalya Chernova
Case History
Back to top