One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Crimea Becomes Defendant in Criminal Case for His Faith After His Father

On August 10, 2026, law enforcement officers detained Ilia Chertov, a 28-year-old believer, at Sochi Airport. A few days later, he was taken to Simferopol. There he learned that a criminal case had been initiated against him under an extremist article.

During the detention, Chertov's phone was seized without a seizure protocol being drawn up. Later, the young man was accused of a fabricated administrative offense, and the court sentenced him to 3 days of arrest. A copy of the court ruling was initially given to him but was then taken away. After the detention, the believer was not given food for one and a half days.

On August 18, 2026, Senior Investigator of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Captain of Justice A. A. Kirov, initiated a case against Ilia Chertov for organizing the activity of an extremist organization. He is also handling the case of Ilia's father, Vladimir Chertov, who is being prosecuted under the same article. On August 20, Ilia was charged; the next day, the court placed the believer under house arrest.