[{"body":"On October 6, 2026, Yevgeniy Korotun, a 56-year-old one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, was released from the penal colony in Nizhniy Tagil, located 2,000 kilometers from his native Seversk. Taking into account his time in the pretrial detention center, he fully served the term assigned to him only for practicing his faith.\n\u0026quot;What I worry most about is that I will not see my son grow up,\u0026quot; Yevgeniy said, just after he ended up behind bars. \u0026quot;The years I could have spent with my family cannot be returned.\u0026quot; At that time his son was only 9 years old.\nYevgeniy used every opportunity to support his wife, Yevgeniya, and care for their child. During the four years the believer spent in the penal colony, the family had 14 visits. The Korotuns spoke on the phone almost every day. \u0026quot;Zhenya wrote separate letters to his son,\u0026quot; the believer\u0026#39;s wife recounted, \u0026quot;he would pick a topic, develop it, reason with Sasha through questions, make small pen drawings, and send quizzes with various interesting assignments.\u0026quot;\nYevgeniy has a congenital heart defect; during his imprisonment, he often suffered severe headaches. In the penal colony, the believer was first assigned to clean the grounds and perform odd jobs. Later, he was transferred to work related to collecting, receiving, and shipping paper, plastic, and packaging cardboard.\nOver the years of imprisonment, Korotun received about 10,000 letters. \u0026quot;Thank you to the friends who enclosed stamps, postcards, and various drawings in the envelopes. That created a cycle of love: Zhenya could not only receive letters but also send them, which brought him a lot of joy,\u0026quot; said Yevgeniya.\nThe criminal case against Korotun was initiated in July 2020. He was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Nearly a year and a half later, the court sent the believer to the penal colony. On the same day, a guilty verdict was issued against Yevgeniy\u0026#39;s brother-in-law, Andrey Kolesnichenko.\nIn total, seven of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses in Seversk have faced criminal prosecution for their faith.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-10-06T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:40","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/10/070909/image_hu_52451b747fdeb1fb.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/10/070909/image_hu_15a1ba0f1d5cf7dd.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/10/070909/image_hu_c605cb585292c09b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/10/070909/image_hu_43bfe05e08cc60ae.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/10/070909.html","regions":["tomsk","sverdlovsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","282.2-1"],"title":"\"The Years I Could Have Spent With My Family Cannot Be Returned\" — Yevgeniy Korotun Released After Six Years Behind Bars","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 2, 2026, Sean Pike, a citizen of Guyana and Russia convicted for practicing the religion of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, was released from penal colony No. 9 in the Novgorod Region, having fully served his sentence.\n\u0026quot;I am very happy. There is nothing like this feeling! — said the former prisoner, describing his emotions. — I call the time spent in imprisonment a \u0026#39;Know Yourself and the Father\u0026#39; course. I saw that God took care of me in advance; he was always with me. In many situations, he gave peace and comfort, including through other people.\u0026quot;\nSean spent most of his sentence in pretrial detention — over four years. There, he contracted COVID-19 and developed hypertension. \u0026quot;Your vision worsens when you spend many years in a cell. But I have glasses, they help,\u0026quot; Sean said with a smile. \u0026quot;Of course, imprisonment affects your health. Now a medical examination is just what I need.\u0026quot;\nSean Pike with his wife (right) and eldest daughter (left)\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt; Sean Pike leaves the correctional institution.\u0026lt;/p\u0026gt; In addition, he faced discrimination on the basis of race: at first, in the detention center, he had to sleep on the floor. Sean recounted that once one of his cellmates tried to provoke him into a fight, but Pike replied that a fight would not happen and continued to treat the man well. After his release, that cellmate wrote to Sean: \u0026quot;I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for everything you did for me. In life, I think it is rare to meet a truly pure and sincere person like you.\u0026quot; Another former prisoner commented on Pike: \u0026quot;Honest, decent, kind — I am glad I met such a person.\u0026quot; Yet another cellmate, before Sean\u0026#39;s release, told him: \u0026quot;What will I do without you? Who will I turn to for advice?\u0026quot;\nWhile behind bars, Sean continued to care for his family — his wife, Tatyana, and their two teenage daughters, the elder of whom has a disability. He supported them during visits, wrote personal letters to his wife and both daughters, taking into account their circumstances and needs. In one letter, Sean shared with his wife: \u0026quot;Everything seems completely bad, but at this moment I understand that I am doing everything right... And this gives me a deep sense of joy.\u0026quot;\nAccording to him, the hardest thing in prison was dealing with his own imagination: \u0026quot;You often imagine things that are not real; you wind yourself up. But prayer helped a lot, as did the Bible. When you tell the Father everything in detail in prayer, it is as if he lifts the burden off your shoulders. The same thing happened when I read letters, especially when I was feeling bad. After a while, I would become completely absorbed in them. They seemed to wash away unnecessary thoughts, and I felt better. You were transported to another world, focused on good things, imagined the places people wrote about. That helped a lot.\u0026quot;\nThroughout his sentence, Sean and his family were supported by friends. They regularly attended court hearings and sent parcels to the pretrial detention center and the colony. According to his loved ones, after Sean\u0026#39;s arrest, \u0026quot;gifts came pouring in from all over the world.\u0026quot; Friends brought food, invited the family to visit, and provided financial assistance.\n\u0026quot;Our family has a tradition — the wedding anniversary,\u0026quot; Sean shared. \u0026quot;When I was in pretrial detention, friends always prepared gifts for my wife. And my wife always ordered a cake for me so that I could celebrate that day with my cellmates. But when I arrived at the colony, it was no longer possible to order a cake. And still, I got one! A cellmate who knew nothing about our anniversary or family tradition brought me a third of a large cake that very morning and said, \u0026#39;Here, this is a gift for you.\u0026#39; I was so touched!\u0026quot;\nOnce, an elderly person sent Sean knitted socks while he was in custody. \u0026quot;So, they thought about me and my family; they prayed for us,\u0026quot; Pike recalled. \u0026quot;I love them very much; I want to hug them and say thank you.\u0026quot;\nSean Pike was detained together with other believers in August 2021. In December 2023, the court found him guilty of organizing the activity of an extremist organization and sentenced him to seven years\u0026#39; imprisonment. In Moscow, for similar charges, 23 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses have already been subjected to criminal prosecution.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-10-02T16:33:22+03:00","duration":"0:45","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/10/021633/image_hu_cec4327fd5b0a6ef.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/10/021633/image_hu_5e113aaefc172bc9.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/10/021633/image_hu_586c4a1ef637df65.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/10/021633/image_hu_7ecae35ad050cd9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/10/021633.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"Sean Pike Released After Five Years' Imprisonment for His Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 22, 2026, Maksim Derendyaev, Denis Sarazhakov, Igor Popov, and Nikolay Saparov — Jehovah's Witnesses convicted under Article 282.2(1) of the RF CrC — were released from penal colonies in Chuvashia, Buryatia, Altai Territory, and Leningrad Region. For practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, they spent from 2.5 to almost 5 years in custody.\nIgor Popov \u0026ldquo;I feel as if these 5 years never happened. When I saw my loved ones — my beloved wife, my friends — all former difficulties paled into insignificance\u0026hellip; First of all, I want to spend time with my beloved wife, that is the most important thing. And also — to go to the banya, I dreamed about that too.\u0026rdquo; Igor, a 39-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Region. In November 2021, he was arrested and transferred to Irkutsk — 1,500 kilometers from home. When the verdict — 6 years and 4 months' imprisonment — entered into force, Igor was transferred to penal colony No. 5 for the Altai Territory.\n\"He was treated differently in prison,\" recalls Mangira, Igor’s wife. \"There were those who did not accept him because he is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses; then Igor won them over by his example. One of them observed how honestly Igor worked, and when he was released, he hugged him and apologized for the way he treated him.\" Igor was able to keep his determination thanks to his relationship with God, physical exercise, and the support of his fellow believers.\nDenis Sarazhakov \u0026ldquo;It felt like I had ended up in the last century — everything was old, there was constant cold, no cleanliness. And the environment\u0026hellip; Staying true to God’s principles in such conditions is very difficult, but Jehovah led me by the hand every day.\u0026rdquo; Denis, a 38-year-old Jehovah’s Witness from Khakassia, was prosecuted in the same criminal case as Popov. Denis served his sentence in penal colony No. 1 for the Republic of Buryatia. There, he worked first in the joinery workshop and then in the souvenir workshop. The administration gave Denis two awards: for making toys for an orphanage and for winning a prize in a table tennis tournament.\nDenis regularly received letters from family and friends. They supported him not only emotionally but also practically: the mattresses in the colony are thin, so Denis used their letters as extra bedding.\nMaksim Derendyaev \u0026ldquo;Letters, especially from abroad, really kept me going — of course, it is more difficult to reply to them, but that is exactly what made it so helpful. There were people on the outside who provided support. Friends helped make gifts for my wife, so she felt that I was close.\u0026rdquo; Maksim, a 40-year-old resident of Izhevsk, spent just over 2.5 years behind bars. The verdict against him — 3 years in a penal colony — was handed down in May 2024. Since February 2025, Maksim was held in penal colony No. 1 for the Chuvash Republic. While in custody, Maksim took part in a contest on Bible knowledge held in that region and took first place.\n\"When you lose everything, you realize that in reality, a person does not need much to live — a bowl and a spoon. My attitude toward many material things has changed. The most precious thing cannot be taken away by people — that is prayer and friendship with God,\" Maksim and his wife Tatyana concluded. Nikolay Saparov \u0026ldquo;Separation from my wife — that was the hardest. Natasha came to see me. I even kept a log of how many kilometers she travelled for visits and parcels: 25,640 kilometers.\u0026rdquo; Nikolay, a 44-year-old resident of Maykop; married to Natalya, the couple have a daughter. Nikolay had been in custody since March 2022. Upon his arrest, force was used against him to coerce him into confessing to extremism. The court sentenced Nikolay to 6 years in a penal colony. In his last year, he was held in penal colony No. 5 for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region. \"Kolia enjoyed a very good reputation wherever he was — among both inmates and the administration. Some even tried to get transferred to his cell on purpose. Prisoners told him that there was a 'tender' for him,\" Natalya said.\nAs of September 22, 2026, almost 170 Jehovah's Witnesses remain behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-09-22T00:00:00Z","duration":"1:47","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/09/241331/image_hu_56d840f85d84b04e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/09/241331/image_hu_4ce0a1515cec1620.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/09/241331/image_hu_3ed56cde56a766f1.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/09/241331/image_hu_3fb4ef1dd8324fe4.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/09/241331.html","regions":["udmurtia","irkutsk","adygea","chuvashia","buryatia","altaisky","leningrad_obl"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"\"The Most Precious Thing Cannot Be Taken Away by People\" — Four Jehovah's Witnesses Released from Penal Colonies in Several Regions of Russia","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 7, 2026, Igor Shmidt, 54, from Sevastopol, was released, having fully served his 6-year sentence. He was sent to the penal colony because of meetings for worship where believers discussed the Bible, sang songs and prayed.\nThe verdict entered into force in January 2022. Igor served the term imposed by the court in correctional institutions in the Rostov Region. \u0026quot;Imprisonment itself is already a major difficulty,\u0026quot; recalls Igor. \u0026quot;You are deprived of familiar comforts, torn from your usual environment. All plans are disrupted; you have to adapt.\u0026quot;\nThroughout his years in custody, both in pretrial detention and the penal colony, friends and fellow believers continously supported Igor. \u0026quot;The loving brotherhood did not abandon me for a single day,\u0026quot; he said. \u0026quot;I remember the head of the operations department in the pretrial detention center came to me with a large package of letters and said, \u0026#39;I want to personally meet this \u0026quot;celebrity\u0026quot; who receives mail from all over the world.\u0026#39;\u0026quot;\nMore than 38 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses in Crimea have already faced criminal prosecution under articles for extremism. Of these, 15 have been sentenced to 6 years or more in a penal colony.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/09/081610/image_hu_c462a3f6071a4784.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/09/081610/image_hu_860ff1eacf768883.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/09/081610/image_hu_da1efd4043bf3d96.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/09/081610/image_hu_1541c214afa5ad36.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/09/081610.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","282.2-2"],"title":"Another One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Crimea Convicted for His Faith Is Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 14, 2026, Pavel Kazadaev, 29, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, was released from the penal colony in Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory. He was convicted for discussing the Bible with friends. The believer spent all 3 years of his imprisonment under strict conditions.\nPavel was taken into custody on the day his appeal was decided in August 2023 — then his 3-year suspended sentence was replaced with imprisonment. \u0026quot;I was not allowed to take any belongings with me; they took me as I was — in my suit, jacket, and tie. On the way to the pretrial detention center, they collected defendants from various courts. People saw that I had nothing with me. One gave me a towel, another — a spoon, a mug, and a container. As a result, when I arrived at the detention center, I already had everything I needed: something to eat with and something to cover myself with at night,\u0026quot; Pavel said, recalling that day.\nUpon arrival at the penal colony, the believer was placed in a punishment cell, and his stay there was repeatedly extended. Later, he was transferred to a cell-type facility. However, according to Darya, Pavel\u0026#39;s wife, he was treated with respect: staff would greet him with a handshake and address him by name. In the correctional facility, Pavel was responsible for receiving and issuing clothing and personal belongings to other prisoners.\nPavel with his wife Darya Friends welcome Pavel Kazadayev with signs at the exit of the The Believer in His Mother\u0026#39;s Embrace Pavel Kazadayev surrounded by his family The strict regime significantly limited visits from loved ones. During his first year of imprisonment, the length between extended visits was 7 months. Later, the Kazadaevs were allowed to see each other once every 2 months. Darya recalls: \u0026quot;We wrote letters to each other every day, no matter the circumstances.\u0026quot; His wife was not the only one to write to Pavel — hundreds of letters with words of support arrived from different countries.\nPavel coped with difficulties by keeping busy: he followed a routine, read the Bible twice a day, replied to correspondence, prayed for the people he wrote to, and tried to share encouraging thoughts with them. A year before his release, Pavel gave his wife a handmade calendar with drawings and warm thoughts. It marked how many days remained until he would return home. \u0026quot;Pavel asked me to write various ideas in it about how I would like us to spend time together so that after his release we could make these plans come true,\u0026quot; Darya said.\nLooking back on his years in prison, Pavel said: \u0026quot;I learned that when nothing is going according to plan, you need to stay calm and trust in God because He has everything under control.\u0026quot;\nThe criminal case against Kazadaev was initiated in May 2021. The investigation regarded participating in meetings for worship and discussing the Bible with fellow believers as \u0026quot;participating in the activity of an extremist organization.\u0026quot; In April 2023, the court of first instance gave him a 3-year suspended sentence, but in August of the same year, the court of appeal replaced the sentence with imprisonment.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:29","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/08/171428/image_hu_798b2ddeeda7713a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/08/171428/image_hu_f9d78a8b1d1991c2.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/08/171428/image_hu_50e8e84488ac25ed.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/08/171428/image_hu_739d87100563f9bb.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/08/171428.html","regions":["altaisky"],"subtitle":"Pavel Kazadaev Released","tags":["release","strict-conditions"],"title":"Three Years Under Strict Conditions for His Faith.","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 11, 2026, Elena Nikulina was released from prison. The 57-year-old believer from Saransk spent more than 3 years in a penal colony for talking about the Bible, which the investigation classed as participating in extremist activity.\nElena has been held in the women\u0026#39;s penal colony in the village of Yavas since March 2023. Before that she was in a pretrial detention center for about 5 months. The first months in the penal colony were the most difficult for Elena. Several times she lost consciousness during the lineup; within a year she lost 30 kg. She was hospitalized with angina pectoris, exhaustion and dehydration. After that, Nikulina underwent planned treatment in the hospital once a year.\nElena is a professional seamstress. In the penal colony they valued her for her responsible attitude. Her responsibilities included checking the quality of tailoring, correcting mistakes, as well as teaching others how to sew on professional equipment. There was a period when shifts lasted 12 hours with one day off every two weeks. Due to the heavy workload, Elena\u0026#39;s eyesight worsened greatly and her hand often became numb.\nAccording to Elena, she found the atmosphere of rudeness, shouting and humiliation very upsetting. \u0026quot;When you’ve spent many years around people who understand you, feel for you, and love you, and then you suddenly end up in such an environment, it’s frightening. Without Jehovah you couldn’t survive,\u0026quot; she recalls. Despite all this, Elena tried to help others in everyday matters, and also supported those who were not not cared for by relatives and friends. \u0026quot;Treat others the way you would like them to treat you — these words stuck with me throughout the 3.5 years,\u0026quot; said Nikulina.\nHer husband Georgiy, convicted in the same case, was released in December 2025. But he still could not visit Elena in the penal colony due to restrictions placed by the court. The prosecution of the couple has been ongoing since February 2019. As part of their case four other believers have been convicted; one of them, Vladimir Atryakhin, remains in prison until March 2028.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:19","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/08/130813/image_hu_781b4bd1fe6d73d2.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/08/130813/image_hu_99710f9cfb0d29b2.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/08/130813/image_hu_47e7c8fdee47a396.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/08/130813/image_hu_38c2ae051fae7a2.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/08/130813.html","regions":["mordovia"],"subtitle":"Her Husband has Also Completed his Sentence","tags":["release","families","video"],"title":"Elena Nikulina Released from Mordovian Penal Colony.","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 5, 2026, the Murmansk Regional Court amended the sentence of one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, Anatoliy Odintsov: 6 years and 3 months of imprisonment were changed to a suspended sentence. On the same day, he was released from the pretrial detention center, where he was due to remain until the verdict of the court of first instance entered into force.\n\u0026quot;Persecution is a kind of exam, a test of faith,\u0026quot; said Anatoliy.\nAnatoliy Odintsov is a medical equipment engineer with many years of experience. He became one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses back in 1994, and had had no problems with the law. However, in 2023 a criminal case was initiated against him: the Investigative Committee classed discussions of the Bible among fellow believers as organizing the activity of an extremist organization. About 3 years later, the Polyarny District Court of Murmansk sentenced him to a lengthy term in a penal colony — and Odintsov was taken into custody immediately. This came as a surprise even to the prosecution, which had requested a fine. Considering the punishment excessively harsh, the prosecutor appealed the verdict.\nAnatoliy spent more than 7 months behind bars and about 9 months under house arrest.\nThe first week in detention was the most difficult: \u0026quot;Probably the hardest thing is the beginning, when some sort of vacuum forms due to the lack of information, and you have absolutely no idea what is happening outside.\u0026quot;\nContact with loved ones during this period was hard. \u0026quot;I could communicate only through letters. Visits and phone calls were restricted,\u0026quot; Anatoliy said, adding: \u0026quot;Friends wrote letters, they streamed in from different countries, from different continents. All this brought joy and left no place for sadness.\u0026quot;\n","category":"verdict","date":"2026-08-05T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/08/141737/image_hu_af627c9948a00ca1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/08/141737/image_hu_fca3123734b7c9c3.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/08/141737/image_hu_645e7ab8493ee1f8.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/08/141737/image_hu_593d3b78a425e883.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/08/141737.html","regions":["murmansk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["appeal","282.2-1","mitigation","release","elderly"],"title":"Court in Murmansk Lightened Sentence for 68-Year-Old Anatoliy Odintsov — Believer Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 3, 2026, Vladimir Sakada, 55, left penal colony No. 5 in the Kaluga Region. He was the last of three Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Sevastopol, convicted in the same case ,to be released.\n\u0026quot;I'm so happy to meet my friends. I'm no longer confined by walls, now I'm free,\u0026quot; Vladimir said.\nBehind bars, Sakada faced difficulties in receiving medical care. \u0026quot;I developed an illness while in custody. The penal colony lacked the conditions for adequate medical care, there was insufficient staff, and no means of taking me out for treatment,\u0026quot; Vladimir explained. He tried to be seen by a doctor for several months and his illness worsened. Only 2 months after he finally underwent the long-awaited surgery, he was placed in a punishment cell for 15 days. Vladimir and Svetlana outside the penal colony. August 2026 Penal colony No. 5 in the Kaluga Region Vladimir Sakada leaves the penal colony, having fully served his term. August 2026 Letters from people who cared and supported the believer behind bars The Sakadas Sign bearing the name of the penal colony where the believer was imprisoned Prison life was not without difficulties, but Vladimir tried to find solutions: his cellmates agreed to smoke only in designated areas, he went outdoors more often, added spices to his food, and did not eat the poor-quality bread served in the cafeteria.\nEvery 3 months, Vladimir\u0026#39;s wife, Svetlana, traveled about 2,000 kilometers to visit him. The couple made an agreement to pray at the same time every day. \u0026quot;God is the main cord connecting us, since we both trust Him and love Him very much,\u0026quot; Svetlana explained.\nThe criminal case against Vladimir Sakada, Yevgeniy Zhukov, and Vladimir Maladyka was initiated in the fall of 2020. The men were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Each was given 6 years\u0026#39; imprisonment.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-08-03T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:24","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/08/041408/image_hu_b898599f37726073.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/08/041408/image_hu_1fe942d71f7d7e79.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/08/041408/image_hu_c3f3e0ce238cf115.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/08/041408/image_hu_888c7e4afd3ffb37.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/08/041408.html","regions":["crimea","kaluga"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","prison-treatment","video"],"title":"Jehovah's Witness from Sevastopol, Vladimir Sakada, Served his Sentence: \"I'm no Longer Confined by Walls\"","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 28, 2026, Vladimir Maladyka\u0026#39;s term of imprisonment ended. He is a resident of Sevastopol, convicted for his faith. His wife, Natalya, and his friends shared in the joy of his release — she traveled nearly 1,600 kilometers to meet him.\n\u0026quot;I felt well in the penal colony, and I feel good now, too, after being released. From the very beginning, I was in good spirits,\u0026quot; Vladimir described his state of mind.\nThe believer spent more than 4 years behind bars. Most of this time was served in penal colony No. 3 for the Tambov Region. \u0026quot;From the very first day, I went to the work zone and said, \u0026#39;Give me a job that suits my health and my age,\u0026#39;\u0026quot; Vladimir recalls. He was assigned to prepare metal products for further processing. \u0026quot;I did my job and behaved exemplarily. No one in the penal colony ever had any complaints about me,\u0026quot; he noted.\nDescribing the hardships of daily life, Vladimir said the water in the penal colony constantly smelled like a swamp; it was impossible to drink or use for hygiene purposes. The food also left much to be desired. He depended largely on parcels sent by his wife and friends. \u0026quot;Another difficulty,\u0026quot; Natalya said, \u0026quot;was that my husband was not allowed to communicate with other inmates as he was convicted under an extremist article and therefore, considered prone to persuading others. And also the inmates were afraid to talk to him in the beginning. Over time, the situation improved significantly.\u0026quot; Letters kept him going during that period. \u0026quot;And now, I have a bag completely stuffed with letters,\u0026quot; Vladimir said on the day of his release. \u0026quot;I could barely leave with this bag. These letters are an expression of love.\u0026quot;\nThe criminal prosecution of Vladimir Maladyka and two of his fellow believers began in September 2020. Two years later, the Nakhimovskiy District Court of Sevastopol sentenced them each to 6 years in a penal colony.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:24","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/07/300832/image_hu_53c8ec5e078534d3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/07/300832/image_hu_561ee6f3ab43b3de.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/07/300832/image_hu_dc12c693fa526a8.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/07/300832/image_hu_af914c71f12edd68.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/07/300832.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","video"],"title":"Vladimir Maladyka, 63, Released from Penal Colony in Tambov Region","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 9, 2026, Aleksandr Filatov, father of two minor children, convicted for his faith, was released from the penal colony. He was separated from his family for 5 years. His wife, Yelena, says: \u0026quot;Neither our love for God nor the love between me and my husband has suffered — rather they've grown stronger and more tender.\u0026quot;\nAccording to Aleksandr, the penal colony is a place where hardships, and sometimes pressure from others, is common. \u0026quot;Don't let yourself be gripped by fear or dwell on what bad things could happen. That only drains you emotionally,\u0026quot; the believer explained after his release. \u0026quot;Yes, being in prison is unnatural. You just need to shift your focus to something positive.\u0026quot; In the penal colony, Aleksandr proved himself to be a conscientious worker; he was the only electrician in his unit. He was respected for his professional skills.\nAleksandr embraced by family and loved ones. Aleksandr, with his wife and younger son, walking to meet friends who have come to share the joy of his release. Aleksandr embraced by family and loved ones. At the time of Aleksandr\u0026#39;s arrest, his younger son was only 2.5 years old. Yelena coped with the children on her own; she took parcels to the pretrial detention center. Whenever she had a chance to visit Aleksandr, she tried to take the children, especially the younger one, so he would not forget his dad. \u0026quot;Every time, we sang a children\u0026#39;s song together,\u0026quot; she recalls. \u0026quot;Afterward, the staff would tell each other with surprise that we were singing during the visit.\u0026quot; Aleksandr made crafts and toys for his loved ones from available materials, as well as greeting cards, puzzles, and wrote poems.\n\u0026quot;In the first 6 months, Aleksandr and I saw each other only three or four times — each time for no more than 1 hour,\u0026quot; she recalls. Letters became the main means of communication: Yelena and Aleksandr wrote to each other every day. At first, calls were not allowed, but later — once a month for 15 minutes.\nOn the eve of his release, Aleksandr was sorting through a bag of letters from all over the world: he received more than 8,500 while in custody. \u0026quot;I can't let them go, they mean too much to me,\u0026quot; he said.\nAleksandr was imprisoned for discussing the Bible with fellow believers. In December 2022, the Oktyabrskiy District Court of Krasnoyarsk sentenced the believer to 6 years in a penal colony for \u0026quot;organizing the activity of an extremist organization.\u0026quot;\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:39","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/07/091637/image_hu_770362fd4520cf10.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/07/091637/image_hu_dd0fa417c99404c1.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/07/091637/image_hu_cf839c887048524c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/07/091637/image_hu_302b781654d41cd9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/07/091637.html","regions":["krasnoyarsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","minors","letters","video"],"title":"Aleksandr Filatov, Prisoner of Conscience, Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 9, 2026, Yevgeniy Zhukov, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses convicted for his faith, completed his sentence. His wife and friends traveled about 2,200 kilometers — from Sevastopol to Yaroslavl — to share the first minutes of his freedom with him.\n\u0026quot;I was always free,\u0026quot; Yevgeniy shared his initial thoughts after leaving the penal colony. \u0026quot;Only temporary restrictions prevented me from being with my family and friends and embracing them.\u0026quot;\nAlthough Yevgeniy developed friendly relations with other prisoners and the administration, his imprisonment was not without difficulties. \u0026quot;I was placed under strict detention conditions. There, you have to spend the whole day sitting, almost without moving. Before that, I worked in construction, then I trained as a baker and worked in the bakery for almost a year... My attitude toward work showed that I am a believer. Also, work helped me not to focus on negative feelings,\u0026quot; the believer said about his daily life behind bars.\nThe highlight of his time in custody was Yevgeniy\u0026#39;s wedding: in July 2024 he married Tatyana. Guests who had traveled thousands of kilometers attended the ceremony.\nYevgeniy leaves through the gates of the penal colony checkpoint. June 2026 Guard tower at the grounds of the penal colony. June 2026. Yevgeniy and Tatyana Zhukov. June 2026 A badge on Yevgeniy’s prison uniform with his details. June 2026 A touching reunion with friends. June 2026 The criminal case against Yevgeniy was initiated back in October 2020; that was when he was first arrested. The case materials listed such \u0026quot;crimes\u0026quot; as: \u0026quot;committing acts of mercy... distributing information in society on scientific, social, and historical topics.\u0026quot; All of this was interpreted as \u0026quot;organizing extremist activity.\u0026quot; In October 2022, the court sentenced him to 6 years\u0026#39; imprisonment. The believer spent almost 4.5 years behind bars.\nAccording to Yevgeniy, the numerous letters — that is what kept him from losing heart. \u0026quot;Thanks to the letters, I woke up every day with a smile; I looked forward to them. Especially letters from elderly people...\u0026quot; said Yevgeniy, struggling to hold back tears. \u0026quot;Those are the most touching letters. When they tell about their life, what they've been through, what they are doing now — it's worth a lot. I have three boxes of such letters — there are thousands of them. In three large notebooks, I have written out interesting thoughts from those letters. I want to keep them in my heart.\u0026quot;\nExpressing what he thinks about his experience, Yevgeniy said: \u0026quot;For me, it was more a test than a trial. Prison is like litmus paper; it showed me who I am inside and what I need to work on. A Bible principle says, \u0026#39;There is no fear in love.\u0026#39; In theory, prison is scary. Many prisoners of conscience are probably in far harsher conditions than I was. But I say sincerely: there is no need to be afraid. God will always hold your hand.\u0026quot;\nVladimir Sakada and Vladimir Maladyka, two other believers from Sevastopol, were convicted in the same case with Yevgeniy. Their release is expected in July 2026.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-06-09T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:26","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/06/111346/image_hu_20fab74e0ac94700.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/06/111346/image_hu_6d58fa89fe57cdda.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/06/111346/image_hu_e99423fd4ac83615.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/06/111346/image_hu_f0dd87651bfdf25b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/06/111346.html","regions":["crimea","volgograd"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","disability","video"],"title":"\"I Was Always Free\" — Crimea Resident Yevgeniy Zhukov Has Served Punishment for His Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"\u0026quot;When the door opened and I saw my friends I was overjoyed. I realized I was free.\u0026quot; This is how Denis Peresunko, 48, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, described his initial feelings after his release. He was convicted under an article for extremism for reading the Bible with others. On June 9, 2026, his prison term came to an end.\nThe prosecution began back in the summer of 2019. Denis Peresunko, who is disabled, was detained and placed in a pretrial detention center for 5 months, where several of his fellow believers were already being held. The court proceedings were held during the height of the COVID pandemic which claimed the life of Denis' wife, Olga. In September 2021, Denis Peresunko was again behind bars, this time for years.\n\u0026quot;In prison there are people too — calm, good people you can talk to. The most important thing is to always rely on God, on his principles and advice,\u0026quot; Denis concluded. He served his sentence 1,200 kilometers from home in a penal colony in Udmurtia. The believer worked in the sewing workshop, making inflatable sleds. Denis often exceeded the set quota and twice received an award.\nDenis Peresunko is one of 84 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses who have served prison terms for their beliefs. Another 115 believers remain in penal colonies.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-06-09T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/06/160925/image_hu_8218bae411e92b0e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/06/160925/image_hu_88c6fe9041c2c68e.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/06/160925/image_hu_2535897deabf6b37.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/06/160925/image_hu_41674f70e6642979.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/06/160925.html","regions":["volgograd"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["disability","release"],"title":"Denis Peresunko from Volgograd Released from Penal Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 8, 2026, Maksim Zinchenko, 34, was released a day early from a correctional center in Crimea for good behavior. Maksim served almost 1 year of forced labor; prior to that, he spent 11 months under house arrest.\n\"Detention is not as frightening as it might seem at first,\" Maksim expressed his feelings. \"Sometimes I allowed myself to feel sad, but I understood that burying myself too deeply in such a state was dangerous. Prayer helped me a lot... You could say I took training courses to advance my Christian qualities.\"\nMaksim was also met by his parents outside the correctional center. June 8, 2026. Maksim worked as a mechanic at a poultry farm located near the correctional center, where convicted persons worked alongside local residents. \"At 6:00 a.m. wake-up, morning routines, line-up, and by about 6:45 a.m. you are already on your way to work,\" Maksim described his daily routine at the correctional center. \"A bus picks you up and takes you to the factory, and after the workday, around 6:20 p.m., you are back at the correctional center. In the evening, you can wash your clothes, cook your meals — there you provide everything for yourself, both food and all other essentials. You even have some free time. At 9:20 p.m., evening line-up and headcount, and then sleep from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.\"\nSome weekends the believer received permission from the administration to leave the correctional center for a few hours to see his wife. \"We would walk around the village and talk. My husband always listened to all my worries and comforted me,\" Karina said.\nMaksim Zinchenko proved himself to be a diligent worker, so he was twice appointed shift leader to train new employees, not only convicted persons. Maksim's hardworking attitude was not to everyone's liking. According to him, some regularly tried to start conflicts and even provoke fights, but the believer never responded to aggression with aggression. Due to Maksim's reputation, both the administration and his colleagues sided with him. As Maksim's wife recounted, one of the convicted persons once told him: \"You are like the sun for us — always cheerful and encouraging others.\" Another person, who was released before Zinchenko, urged the facility staff: \"Look after Maksim; we are here because of our own stupidity, but he is here for no reason... People like him give us the opportunity to see what it means to live an honest life.\"\n\"For anyone who faces [unjust criminal prosecution], it is important to understand that the problem is not with us. We need to be confident that we will overcome everything. God will never leave us without strength,\" Maksim concluded.\nIn similar criminal cases, 14 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses have already been sentenced to forced labor, 6 of whom are still serving their sentences.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-06-08T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/06/100929/image_hu_ea5898e107e74270.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/06/100929/image_hu_c20d8e522fed7274.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/06/100929/image_hu_3637d0af4ba8171d.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/06/100929/image_hu_c5fbf58838dea6f8.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/06/100929.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":"Maksim Zinchenko from Crimea Completes Forced Labor","tags":["labor","release"],"title":"\"It Is Not as Frightening as It Might Seem.\"","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 5, 2026, Aleksey Dyadkin was released. He spent nearly 6 years behind bars. \"God never left me all this time,\" the 37-year-old believer said after his release. \"Everything is all right. I don't regret my choice.\"\nFor the first 2.5 years, Aleksey was held in a pretrial detention center; during that period, his wife, Vitalina, was not allowed to visit him. The situation only changed after Aleksey was transferred to a penal colony. \"When we hugged, we stood there for a long time, unable to believe that we were actually holding each other,\" he recalled of their first meeting after several years of separation.\nEven behind bars, Aleksey found ways to support his wife. Vitalina described one of them: \"We had a thick notebook. First, he would write in it, and then, before the next hearing, I would write in it... When I had no contact with him for a while, I would take that notebook, and it felt as if he were talking to me.\"\nAccording to Aleksey, letters helped him keep the right view of what was happening over the long years and refocus on positive things. \"It's really something ... Once I received an empty letter, just the envelope. When I saw my name on it, I realized that people were thinking about me,\" he said through tears. \"Maybe the letter itself didn't reach me for whatever reason, but I still felt that care and love.\"\nIn the colony, Aleksey gained a reputation as a hardworking man — he repaired many things at the facility with his own hands. He also took part in sports events and won prizes. One of the employees who works with prisoners described Aleksey as one of the most positive people in the entire colony.\nAleksey Dyadkin was convicted as part of a criminal case against five Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Gukovo, Rostov Region. He was the last of them to be released. Several other believers from this region remain behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-06-05T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:38","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/06/081453/image_hu_f31edfa13cfb7ca4.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/06/081453/image_hu_40f5a09692e82115.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/06/081453/image_hu_201a5449afa66321.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/06/081453/image_hu_fcc833bd47d2191b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/06/081453.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"Aleksey Dyadkin Leaves Penal Colony in Lipetsk Having Fully Served his Sentence","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 3, 2026, 41-year-old Artem Gerasimov was released having fully served his sentence. Friends met him outside penal colony No. 12 for the Rostov Region.\n\"It's hard even to imagine that millions of people around the world were praying for me. Just realizing that was a huge support to me,\" said Artem, reflecting on his 6 years in prison.\nIn the penal colony, Artem first worked in the sewing workshop, making medical gowns, rubberized suits and masks. Later, he worked in a workshop producing metal scouring pads. For his diligence, the believer received commendations in the form of awards and extra parcel allowances.\nArtem tried to get along with prison staff and fellow inmates, regardless of their position or status. \"At one point, one inmate tried to take out his resentment on me,\" the believer recalled. \"But that lasted only a few days. Then things settled down. Later, he even smiled when we said goodbye.\"\n\"Throughout my sentence, I always tried to keep up with the reports of fellow believers who were being persecuted. And the hardest thing for me was watching them go through that very first stage — the beginning of their hardship. This is because I knew what it was like for me, and how it was later. Once you've gone through persecution, you start taking things much easier,\" Artem said.\nAltogether, 18 residents of Crimea have been convicted for their faith in Jehovah God, 15 of them were given prison terms, and 14 remain behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-06-03T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/06/040855/image_hu_9ce63cef63176f5d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/06/040855/image_hu_22e5f1bf089ed406.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/06/040855/image_hu_a5b15ba242698446.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/06/040855/image_hu_8ca7fb159296d40b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/06/040855.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":"He Spent 6 Years in a Penal Colony","tags":["release"],"title":"Another Resident of Crimea — Artem Gerasimov — Has Been Released.","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 25, 2026, the court of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast overturned the verdict against Oleg Postnikov—six years and two months in a penal colony—and sent the criminal case back for a new trial. The man was released from custody in the courtroom. He was placed under a travel restriction order.\n\u0026quot;Extremism has nothing to do with me—and nothing to do with Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses at all,\u0026quot; Postnikov said in his final statement. Speaking about the video recordings on which the prosecution built its case, he added: \u0026quot;You can\u0026#39;t hear any criticism or political arguments there... No calls for extremist actions. There were calls to love one\u0026#39;s neighbor, to care for them; calls for open‑mindedness and for taking others\u0026#39; feelings into account. That\u0026#39;s my way of life. There\u0026#39;s nothing else on those videos.\u0026quot;\nFor nearly five years, Oleg Postnikov has consistently challenged the charges brought against him, going through repeated court proceedings and seeking review of the decisions. He does not plead guilty to continuing the activities of a banned legal entity.\nIn court, the believer explained the reason for his persecution this way: \u0026quot;My only \u0026#39;crime\u0026#39; is that I believe in God differently than others do. I believe that people will live forever on Earth in peace with one another. And for that, the prosecutor proposes to deprive me of my freedom, to separate me from my beloved wife and my friends.\u0026quot;\n","category":"victory","date":"2026-05-25T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/05/261346/image_hu_e75afecd378f6356.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/05/261346/image_hu_c24e574491b05422.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/05/261346/image_hu_82b3c64ff0794834.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/05/261346/image_hu_4579987a2c0ca97a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/05/261346.html","regions":["jewish"],"subtitle":"But He Will Have to Defend Himself in Court Again, for the Fourth Time","tags":["appeal","retrial","release"],"title":"Appeals Court Releases Oleg Postnikov from Prison","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 22, 2026, Vladimir Popov, a 59-year-old Jehovah's Witness, was released from penal colony No. 3 in Dimitrovgrad. At the gates of the facility, he was finally reunited with his wife and friends.\nVladimir's wife, Irina, said: \"We lived together for 35 years and weren't just a couple, but close friends too. We always talked a lot, discussed everything together, shared our feelings and concerns. All of that suddenly stopped when he was arrested. For about 3 years, while Vladimir was in the detention center, we saw each other only in court.\" Later, Irina was able to visit her husband in the penal colony.\n\"The hardest part in prison was the waiting... but prayer and hope helped,\" Vladimir Popov said after his release. Physically, it wasn't easy either: at times there was constant noise in the cell, so it was impossible to get enough sleep. It took a toll on his health: spikes in his blood pressure, dizziness, pain in his back and joints. Moreover, the believer waited nearly 2 years for dental treatment, which he received only shortly before his release.\nWhile in the colony, Vladimir worked in the sewing workshop: first as a packer, and later as a sewing-machine mechanic. The administration recognized his work with commendations several times and one award.\n\"My husband is a very sociable person with a sense of humor, so it wasn't hard for him to find common ground with people even in prison,\" Irina said. \"The guards spoke well of him, and so did his cellmates. Some guys who'd already been released once told me that even though Uncle Vladimir is much older — about the same age as their father — he was a friend to them: always ready to support them, help out, and give advice.\"\n\"It's important not to lose heart and to keep doing good,\" Vladimir Popov concluded.\nSearches in August 2020 marked the start of the criminal prosecution of Vladimir Popov for being one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Since then, he remained behind bars. Vladimir Popov and five fellow believers were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One of them, Aleksey Dyadkin, is still in the penal colony. He is due to be released in June.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-05-22T16:18:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/05/221617/image_hu_a51389ccb7a4d83a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/05/221617/image_hu_1692a4722e693342.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/05/221617/image_hu_5155c8341430720e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/05/221617/image_hu_e5a0dc2e09160697.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/05/221617.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":"Vladimir Popov from Gukovo Released After Nearly 6 Years Behind Bars","tags":["release"],"title":"“Don’t Lose Heart and Keep Doing Good.”","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 18, 2026, a long period of imprisonment and the associated hardships came to an end for Nikita Moiseyev and Yevgeniy Razumov. The believers were released from penal colony No. 3 in Dimitrovgrad. Their relatives traveled 1,200 kilometers from home to meet them. Meanwhile, immediately upon his release from the penal colony, law enforcement officers took Nikita Moiseyev to the Ulyanovsk railway station.\nNikita and Yevgeniy spent almost 3.5 years of the 7-year sentence handed down by the court in the penal colony; before that they had spent 2.5 years in a detention center. During the 6 years of their imprisonment, they endured many hardships: overcrowded and smoke-filled cells in the detention center, long hours of labor in the penal colony, punishment cell, inadequate living conditions and health problems. In addition, letters from relatives and friends were given to them only occasionally. Yevgeniy was mainly concerned for his wife throughout these years: Natalya is disabled.\nDespite all the difficulties, they tried not to lose heart and adapted to the new circumstances. In the penal colony, they worked conscientiously, for which the administration repeatedly commended them. At first, the believers worked in the sewing workshop; later Nikita worked in the shop of the penal colony, while Yevgeniy was assigned to electroplating. In their free time, they studied English. They developed friendly relations with other inmates.\nFour more of their fellow believers were convicted with Yevgeniy Razumov and Nikita Moiseyev. Oleg Shidlovskiy and Aleksey Goreliy were released half a year ago, while Vladimir Popov and Aleksey Dyadkin will be freed very soon — in May and June 2026, respectively.\nBy now, 81 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses have already served various terms in penal colonies and correctional centers, while about 120 remain behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-05-18T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/05/191459/image_hu_bb23bd4ac41eafb1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/05/191459/image_hu_7a96740387765582.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/05/191459/image_hu_2852355e3a8b48d2.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/05/191459/image_hu_e060093da7514b8c.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/05/191459.html","regions":["rostov","ulyanovsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Nikita Moiseyev and Yevgeniy Razumov Released from Penal Colony in Ulyanovsk Region","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 15, 2026, Vitaliy Manuylov, 53, was released from a correctional center in Barnaul after completing his term of forced labor. His elderly mother, wife, daughter and two grandchildren were \u0026quot;counting the hours\u0026quot; until his return. Vitaliy says he is happy that he managed to \u0026quot;serve his entire sentence with dignity.\u0026quot;\nThe believer carried out his forced labor at the \u0026quot;Melanzhist Altai\u0026quot; textile manufacturer, in the weaving preparatory department. Vitaliy worked there as a general assistant, unloading and transporting bobbins of yarn. \u0026quot;I did the best I could, worked double shifts, sometimes throwing as much as 13 tons of yarn per shift,\u0026quot; he said. \u0026quot;At first I had a lot of energy, but then the fatigue built up... My body didn\u0026#39;t have time to recover — my arms and legs started to hurt.\u0026quot; In addition to his factory work, Vitaliy helped with maintenance and improvement of the buildings and grounds of the correctional center.\nHe was highly valued at the company. A forewoman with more than 40 years of experience said that in all that time she had never seen anyone work as diligently or be as reliable as Vitaliy. One of the company\u0026#39;s directors noted that Manuylov would be remembered as a good worker and added that they would be happy to give him a job if he wanted.\nVitaliy and his wife, Marina. Vitaliy\u0026#39;s criminal prosecution began in the summer of 2023: his home was searched and he was interrogated in connection with the case of Valeriy Klokov. Later, Vitaliy was charged with participating in the activity of an extremist organization. In November 2024, the court sentenced him to 2 years of forced labor. He was held in the correctional center from March 2025.\nIn the Altai Territory, at least 12 believers have become defendants in cases for extremism because of their beliefs; 3 of them are already serving their sentences in penal colonies.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-05-15T15:23:58+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/05/151523/image_hu_3113d0be1efc4e84.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/05/151523/image_hu_3eb775dd73c39fa5.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/05/151523/image_hu_96348d97075704da.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/05/151523/image_hu_9e4a2f6fd1c39c28.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/05/151523.html","regions":["altaisky"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","labor"],"title":"Forced Labour Completed: Vitaliy Manuylov Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On April 17, 2026, Aleksandr Dolganov was released from the penal colony, where he had been serving a sentence because of religious persecution. Upon his release the 37‑year‑old was met by his close family — his wife, Mariya, and his father.\nAleksandr is from Tolyatti. From an early age he was interested in radio electronics and later trained as an electrician. These skills proved useful in the penal colony, where Aleksandr was assigned work as an electrician. In addition, he helped with various maintenance tasks to keep the prison facilities in working order. The believer earned a good reputation: he was respected both by fellow inmates and by the administration.\nAleksandr was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for taking part in meetings for worship of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses. He actually spent a little over 1.5 years in the penal colony; before that, he had been held for about 5 months in a pretrial detention center and nearly 3 months under house arrest. After being transferred to penal colony No. 10 in Volzhskiy (Samara Region), Aleksandr was not given his letters for some time.\nBack in court, Aleksandr Dolganov clearly stated his position, which he maintained throughout the entire prosecution: \u0026quot;Whatever verdict is announced, I will not renounce my faith. My faith is an inseparable part of my life; without it, life would lose its meaning.\u0026quot;\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-17T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/201443/image_hu_22e64877b9170e75.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/201443/image_hu_d2d60718e4c25c26.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/201443/image_hu_b59fc1af00ca5c5.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/201443/image_hu_7355e61b524ddcf6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/201443.html","regions":["samara"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"After Nearly 3 Years Behind Bars Aleksandr Dolganov Free Again","type":"news"},{"body":"Lyudmila Shchekoldina, a 49-year-old prisoner of conscience from Pavlovskaya, spent 3 years and 11 months behind bars. On April 15, 2026, she was released from penal colony No. 28 in the Volgograd Region; on her release she was met by her siblings, nephew and friends.\nLyudmila had to defend her right to read the Bible not only in court but also while in the penal colony. For some time, she was forbidden to use her personal copy of the Holy Scriptures. A Bible she had from the prison library was also confiscated, because it lacked an official stamp from the church. For the same reason, a book containing parts of the Bible, obtained from a local parish, was taken from her. However, shortly before her release her persistence was rewarded and she was finally given a Bible.\nAt the time of her arrest, Lyudmila suffered from serious health problems, including with her internal organs, arthritis, and severe spinal pain. Her conviction disrupted a scheduled surgery: she was sentenced to 4 years and 1 month in a penal colony and taken into custody immediately. It took more than a year before she finally received the medical care she needed. Until then, despite her condition, she was required to work in the sewing workshop and perform other duties.\nHer treatment took place under guard: two separate hospital rooms were allocated for Lyudmila and her five escorts. Shchekoldina spoke positively about the hospital staff, especially the head physician, who postponed her vacation to perform the surgery. The recovery period was marked by further emotional trauma: her brother lost his wife, and Lyudmila\u0026#39;s nephew, Aleksandr Davydenko, was placed in pretrial detention because of his faith.\n\u0026quot;I felt that people around the world were praying for me. I had the strength to keep going, I didn\u0026#39;t lose heart, and I maintained my joy,\u0026quot; Lyudmila said, explaining what helped her endure.\nMore than 240 women in Russia have faced repression for being Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses. As of today, 15 of them remain in pretrial detention centers, penal colonies, or correctional facilities across the country.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-15T14:22:27+03:00","duration":"0:40","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/151422/image_hu_5e4bfdaaef7ea267.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/151422/image_hu_bc625bce4d6a8e0b.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/151422/image_hu_2b591aafcef522fa.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/151422/image_hu_ba5e5146e08c8649.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/151422.html","regions":["krasnodar","volgograd"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","video"],"title":"Lyudmila Shchekoldina, Jehovah’s Witness from Kuban, Released from Penal Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On April 10, 2026, Olga Panyuta, 66, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Primorye Territory, was released from prison, having been convicted for her faith under an article for extremism. Olga spent more than 3 years in a penal colony in a trial that began with raids in the town of Spassk‑Dalny in the autumn of 2018 and ended with prison terms for three believers.\nOlga was born in 1959 in Nizhny Novgorod. She graduated from a technical college and worked as a kindergarten teacher and later as a social worker. She had already retired by the time of her arrest. Her husband, Vladimir, worked for many years on the railway. Together they raised two daughters and a son. Olga has been one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses since April 1996 — 30 years. It was for this religion that she and her fellow believers were deprived of their freedom.\nAfter searches and detention, Olga spent almost a year under house arrest, followed by more than 3 years under a recognizance agreement. In February 2023, the court found her guilty of \u0026quot;involving others in the activity of an extremist organization\u0026quot; and sentenced her to 4.5 years in a penal colony. She was taken into custody directly from the courtroom and transferred to a pretrial detention center. Following an appeal, which reduced her sentence by 2 months, Olga was sent to a penal colony.\nOlga and her husband Vladimir, April 2026 Prison conditions proved especially harsh given Olga\u0026#39;s age. She recalled that the most difficult experience was when she was first placed in a punishment cell for 14 days. \u0026quot;It was cold. I was wearing only a dress. The window was open. To keep warm, I would sit on a narrow metal bench, tuck my legs under myself, and pull the hem of my dress over my knees. Sitting for a long time was very hard,\u0026quot; she said. Later, Panyuta was transferred to strict detention conditions.\nHer relations with the prison administration were peaceful and her relationships with other inmates were warm. \u0026quot;They called me \u0026#39;Auntie Olya,\u0026#39; \u0026#39;Olga Aleksandrovna,\u0026#39; (patronymic used to show respect — editor\u0026#39;s note) and one young woman called me \u0026#39;my dear granny,\u0026#39;\u0026quot; Olga recalled. According to her, even prison staff were surprised by how others treated her. One officer once asked her, \u0026quot;How come everyone loves you?\u0026quot;\nPrayer, memories of life in freedom, and letters from around the world helped Olga cope with imprisonment. \u0026quot;They were the greatest support, flowing in like little streams. They were full of care, concern, humor, and stories — I felt as if I was traveling all over the world,\u0026quot; she said, adding that the letters supported not only her but other prisoners as well.\nThe criminal case against Olga Panyuta is part of a broader campaign of prosecution against Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses in Primorye Territory. Other defendants in the same case, Aleksey Trofimov and Dmitriy Malevaniy, remain behind bars until October 2028 and April 2029, respectively.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-10T14:01:44+03:00","duration":"00:25","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/101401/image_hu_681308414eb97ddb.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/101401/image_hu_7843924385e89ef5.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/101401/image_hu_470eaa30e051f224.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/101401/image_hu_f8de987975166503.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/101401.html","regions":["primorye"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","video"],"title":"“How Come Everyone Loves You?” — Olga Panyuta Completed Sentence for Her Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On April 7, 2026, 30-year-old Danil Suvorov was released from a penal colony in Mordovia. He spent more than 4.5 years behind bars. The believer served his sentence 1,500 kilometers from home, far from family and friends. Many people traveled from afar to meet him on that day.\nBefore the criminal prosecution, Danil worked as a sales assistant in a tool store. In August 2021, his home was searched, and he was charged with extremism for conversations on Bible topics. In the summer of 2023, the court sentenced him to 6 years imprisonment. For almost 3 of those years, Danil was kept in a special block of a pretrial detention center — without visits. He was then transferred to a penal colony, where he remained until his release. There he worked in the sewing workshop and had a reputation as a conscientious worker. According to Danil, one of the prisoners said about Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses: \u0026quot;You are the kind of people who definitely shouldn\u0026#39;t be here.\u0026quot;\nEvery 3 months, Danil\u0026#39;s mother visited him in the penal colony. Friends wrote to him regularly: \u0026quot;Through letters they encouraged me, and I encouraged others,\u0026quot; he said. \u0026quot;It helped me to live, not lose heart, and stay occupied. [...] I sent tons of letters home.\u0026quot;\nDanil warmly thanked everyone who helped him, including those he does not know personally. \u0026quot;Free outside, it\u0026#39;s a small thing, but in prison even a little candy means a lot,\u0026quot; he said, adding: \u0026quot;Without my friends\u0026#39; help, I basically wouldn\u0026#39;t have had anything to eat.\u0026quot;\nAfter returning to Sochi, Suvorov\u0026#39;s freedom will remain restricted for another 1.5 years.\nAt present, seven Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses under the age of 30 remain in custody.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-07T16:07:24+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/071607/image_hu_e2f5cf1fb528837b.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/071607/image_hu_c4b0df85c3018330.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/071607/image_hu_effa52568596d060.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/071607/image_hu_1cff91b56da97765.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/071607.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families"],"title":"“You Shouldn’t Be Here” — Danil Suvorov Released","type":"news"},{"body":"Valeriy Rogozin, the third of the convicted Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Volgograd, was released from a penal colony in Udmurtia on April 7, 2026. The long years of separation from his wife Marina are now behind them — they have been married for more than 40 years.\n\u0026quot;I feel wonderful! At last, I\u0026#39;m among my friends. Even though I always felt at home through letters,\u0026quot; Valeriy said after his release.\nRogozin is a former military pilot; before his arrest, he worked as a design engineer. In May 2019, Valeriy was detained at his workplace and sent to a pretrial detention center for 7 months in a criminal case on extremism charges. After the verdict was announced, the believer was again put behind bars. \u0026quot;It was hard to be in a cell where three out of four inmates smoked. It\u0026#39;s impossible to get used to conditions in a detention center — you can only adapt to them,\u0026quot; Valeriy recalled. Letters were a great source of support for him: \u0026quot;Each one was like a breath of fresh air in a smoke‑filled cell... When you feel the support of God and friends, you can endure any conditions,\u0026quot; he noted.\nAfter the sentence entered into force, Valeriy was transferred to Udmurtia, some 1,200 kilometers from home. In prison, Rogozin worked in the sewing workshop, and he was awarded several times for his work. Shortly before his release, Valeriy reached retirement age, so he was no longer required to work. This allowed him to devote more time to reading the Bible and writing letters.\nThe last defendant in the Volgograd case against Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, Denis Peresunko, is expected to be released in June 2026.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-07T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/081426/image_hu_49c087979b6616f1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/081426/image_hu_7855fba6c309bcc3.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/081426/image_hu_da87cd348570d4f1.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/081426/image_hu_aed911566b35e177.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/081426.html","regions":["volgograd"],"subtitle":"Valeriy Rogozin, 64, Fully Served His Sentence for His Faith","tags":["release","elderly"],"title":"Over — 5 Years Confinement.","type":"news"},{"body":"Ten months in a Kazan penal colony and almost 4 years in Moscow pretrial detention centers — Eduard Sviridov, a 61‑year‑old Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness, had been behind bars since August 2021. His sentence for his faith came to an end, and on April 2, 2026, he was released.\n\u0026quot;When there were brief moments of anxiety in the penal colony, they soon passed,\u0026quot; Eduard recalls. Letters from people who cared helped distract him from everyday hardships and reassured him of support, while parcels with \u0026quot;all kinds of treats\u0026quot; brought joyful moments. The believer noted the good attitude of staff and other inmates. One of his younger cellmates once said that Eduard had become almost like a father to him.\nWhile in the penal colony, he worked for a while packing meat products. The schedule was not easy: on one occasion, Eduard was given only one day off after twenty 10‑hour workdays. \u0026quot;I exercised all the time and tried to keep in good shape. Recently there was a lot of work with snow — there was a huge amount of it, and that\u0026#39;s also good exercise,\u0026quot; the believer added.\nPrisoners are deprived of many ordinary comforts that people at liberty may not even notice. \u0026quot;I love trains. I want to take a ride in a carriage, look out the window and dream; watch houses, fields, and trees flicker by; enjoy the scenery,\u0026quot; Eduard replied when asked what he would like to do soon after his release. He did not have to wait long: soon after, the Kazan-Moscow train took him home to the capital.\nIn December 2023, at the same time as Eduard Sviridov, the court also sentenced Sean Pike and Aleksandr Rumyantsev to imprisonment. They are expected to be released in October 2026 and April 2027, respectively.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-04-02T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/04/031554/image_hu_a38a3be065b33bf7.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/04/031554/image_hu_8018dd5403d12a40.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/04/031554/image_hu_2a67f18e86e2773b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/04/031554/image_hu_14d62369daaf230.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/04/031554.html","regions":["moscow","tatarstan"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Eduard Sviridov from Moscow Released From Penal Colony in Tatarstan","type":"news"},{"body":"On March 27, 2026, Dmitriy Zagulin, Jehovah's Witness, was released from custody. He and three fellow believers had been convicted for participating in meetings for worship — actions that investigators equated with \"organizing the activity of an extremist organization.\" In total, Dmitriy spent 1,191 days behind bars.\nDmitriy had worked many years for Russian Railways. The management valued him and repeatedly awarded him for his conscientious work. In May 2018, \"judgement day\" came for Zagulin and his fellow believers — this was the name of the special operation of large‑scale searches in homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan. A criminal case was initiated against Dmitriy 10 months later.\nDmitriy Zagulin with his daughter (left) and mother (right) The investigation brought additional hardships: he was placed on the Rosfinmonitoring list, his bank accounts were frozen, and in November 2021 he was dismissed from his job. In December 2022, Zagulin was sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony and taken into custody directly in the courtroom. \"We faced all these events with a smile on our faces, understanding that we were not being judged as thieves or murderers, but that we were suffering for God's name,\" he said, describing that period of his life.\nDmitriy served his sentence in Blagoveshchensk, in penal colony No. 8. Although communication with the outside world was limited to visits and occasional letters, his optimistic outlook helped him endure imprisonment. \"If you start feeling sorry for yourself, it becomes unbearable,\" he noted. Instead, he adapted to the new circumstances: \"If you're just 'doing time,' you suffer; but if you 'live,' then everything is fine.\" For example, Dmitriy maintained a strict daily routine: he tried to wake up according to Birobidzhan time (4 a.m. local time), exercised regularly, and spent weekends in the library.\nProsecution for his faith did not end with his release. By the court decision, Dmitriy was placed under administrative supervision. For the next 8 years, he will have to report to the police 4 times a month; he is prohibited from leaving Birobidzhan, from being outside his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and from visiting cafés and restaurants.\nDmitriy says he feels \"wonderful\" now and is happy to be reunited with his family and friends. \"I'm overwhelmed with emotion,\" he said. \"I have so many plans. For example, I'd like to treat myself — I haven't had ice cream in a long time. I'd like to meet with friends, sit down, talk, encourage one another. There are truly so many plans — I don't even know where to start.\"\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-03-27T16:30:25+02:00","duration":"0:40","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/03/271630/image_hu_830df236e00c8453.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/03/271630/image_hu_c3e8c894a27e6735.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/03/271630/image_hu_cfd10a819f4a86ad.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/03/271630/image_hu_978d4f741c6bc0b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/03/271630.html","regions":["jewish","amur"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"“We Faced All These Events with a Smile on Our Faces” — Dmitriy Zagulin Released from Penal Colony in Blagoveshchensk","type":"news"},{"body":"Sergey Filatov, a 53-year-old Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness from Crimea, was released from penal colony No. 10 in Rostov-on-Don on January 21, 2026. The father of four fully served his sentence — he had been in custody since March 2020.\nDuring his years of imprisonment, Sergey was held in a pretrial detention center as well as in two penal colonies and was able to adapt to the difficult conditions. \u0026quot;The hardest part was that so many inmates smoke. On one ocassion I walked into the cell and there was a thick, bluish cloud of smoke. I breathed fresh air through a little opening in the window,\u0026quot; said Sergey Filatov. \u0026quot;I had to explain my position and be firm about it. But I tried to apply what the Bible teaches — to treat people the way I would want to be treated. In the end, I got along very well with veryone.\u0026quot;\n\u0026quot;He\u0026#39;s very communicative, sociable, approachable, and down-to-earth,\u0026quot; explained Natalya, Sergey\u0026#39;s wife. \u0026quot;These qualities helped him while in prison to find common ground with both the administration and inmates. An inmate told Sergey: \u0026#39;Where you are, things are always good.\u0026#39;\u0026quot;\nHis supervisors valued the believer for his responsible attitude and his strong work ethic. In the penal colony, Sergey qualified as a carpenter and then trained as a welder. He worked in the decorative wood-processing, sewing, and metal workshop; he did cold forging, made garden benches and trash cans, as well as structures for skate parks. In his second year of imprisonment, he was offered the position of head of the colony\u0026#39;s entire production operation, which includes the sewing and steel-casting workshops, the vehicle service station, and the wallpaper and aerated-concrete manufacturing units. \u0026quot;We don\u0026#39;t have a better candidate than you,\u0026quot; they told him. \u0026quot;You\u0026#39;re not driven by vanity or greed; we can rely on you.\u0026quot; In his final year, Sergey was the foreman of metal production. During his time there, he received 13 awards.\nIn 2023, after having served more than a third of his term, Filatov filed a motion to have his imprisonment replaced with corrective labor. The court denied his request, despite a positive character reference provided by the administration of the penal colony. He also filed a motion for parole but was again denied, with the decision stating that he \u0026quot;did not admit guilt to committing a crime.\u0026quot; During the last part of his imprisonment the believer was held under less strict detention conditions.\nAccording to those close to him, Sergey worried about his family, especially his children, because he could not take full part in their upbringing for several years. The first years of his imprisonment coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions caused by it, the believer was unable to see his loved ones for almost 2 years. While Filatov was imprisoned, his father passed away.\nSergey used any opportunity to give attention to his family, despite his constrained circumstances. \u0026quot;Sergey really encouraged and supported me with his heartfelt letters and the poems he dedicated to me... And he would always give me fresh or dried roses or other flowers at extended visits. It was so sweet and touching,\u0026quot; the believer\u0026#39;s wife said.\n\u0026quot;Prison is not the worst place. Jehovah gives strength and support everywhere. Even more so,here in the colony,\u0026quot; Sergey said.\nAltogether, 35 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses in Crimea have already faced criminal prosecution. The overwhelming majority of those convicted — 14 people (82%) — received 6 years or more in penal colonies.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:40","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/01/211406/image_hu_74b355f3493ed85c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/01/211406/image_hu_ec81430e4f4e61e4.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/01/211406/image_hu_aa69eedf0ed02a93.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/01/211406/image_hu_8fe6732d30058ca9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/01/211406.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"Prisoner of Conscience from Crimea Released after Nearly 6 Years in Custody","type":"news"},{"body":"When prisoner of conscience Aleksey Khabarov appeared at the gates of the penal colony, he was greeted with applause by family and friends — more than 40 people. The 50-year-old believer from Pskov completed his sentence on January 16, 2026. He spent most of his term in penal colony No. 4 in the city of Valday, and the last 6 months in penal colony No. 9 in the village of Parfino.\nAleksey described life in the colony as monotonous, like \u0026quot;Groundhog Day.\u0026quot; What brightened his days was corresponding with people who cared — by the time of his release, he had received more than 2,600 letters. In his free time, Aleksey participated in sports competitions, including chess. His parents could not visit him because of the long distances, so he is grateful to friends who came instead; some traveling hundreds of kilometers.\nWhile in prison, Aleksey, like dozens of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses convicted across the country, faced additional pressure. He was placed in a punishment cell several times and given reprimands; once — for swapping jackets with another inmate because the one issued to him was not his size. Aleksey said what helped him: \u0026quot;Whenever they sent me to the punishment cell and the administration rebuked me, I reminded myself who I am and why I am here, and I saw it all as attacks on my faith.\u0026quot;\nThe court considered Khabarov\u0026#39;s case three times. At the first trial, he was given a suspended sentence; the second time, Judge Aleksey Nikitin acquitted him; however, in October 2023, his colleague Natalya Kapustina sent the believer to a penal colony.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2026-01-16T17:41:26+02:00","duration":"0:26","image":{"jpg":"/news/2026/01/161741/image_hu_f7211338970408cd.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2026/01/161741/image_hu_1bcb9019450cf032.jpg","webp":"/news/2026/01/161741/image_hu_14ce020deedfd2c3.webp","webp2x":"/news/2026/01/161741/image_hu_8a1ad70f013d1a39.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2026/01/161741.html","regions":["pskov","novgorod"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"Aleksey Khabarov Released After Serving More Than 2 Years in Penal Colony for “Wrong” Religion","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 30, 2025, Georgiy Nikulin, 62, left penal colony No. 3 for the Republic of Mari El, having served his sentence in full. The believer was met by his friends. His wife, Elena, could not be with him to share his joy of being released — she is still imprisoned.\nIn August 2022 the Nikulins, and four of their fellow believers, were convicted for their faith. Georgiy and Elena were sent to a pretrial detention center, and after the decision of the court of appeal, they were transferred to penal colonies in different regions. For a long time, they could not communicate: visits were impossible, and only after 1.5 years of being separated, the couple obtained permission to correspond.\nIn prison, Georgiy first worked in the sewing workshop, but due to problems with his sight, he was transferred to assembling electrical sockets. According to Georgiy, thanks to his faith, he endured difficult prison conditions, perhaps even easier than other prisoners. \u0026quot;I had high blood pressure. It reached 230, which shocked the medical team,\u0026quot; said the believer and added: \u0026quot;I constantly felt God\u0026#39;s support. Without his help, everything would have been completely different...\u0026quot;\nElena Nikulina is due to be released in August 2026. Three other defendants have already been released, and the sentence of Vladimir Atryakhin, father of two young children, ends in March 2028.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-12-30T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/12/310831/image_hu_a265198b85f3ff18.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/12/310831/image_hu_14a07bafb54814fd.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/12/310831/image_hu_fa233d900499df0b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/12/310831/image_hu_a42dd51e26a50106.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/12/310831.html","regions":["mordovia","mari-el"],"subtitle":"His Wife Still Serving Term for Her Faith","tags":["release","elderly","families"],"title":"Another Jehovah's Witness From Saransk Released.","type":"news"},{"body":"Sergey Melnik, 53, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from Volgograd, spent more than 4 years and 9 months in prison. His term for his faith ended on December 18, 2025. Sergey left the penal colony in Kirovo-Chepetsk, from where he will take a train home the next day.\nMelnik was first put behind bars in May 2019 — he was placed in a pretrial detention center following a search; later, after the verdict was announced, he was sent back to the detention center. \u0026quot;The hardest part was enduring isolation and worrying about my family. I didn\u0026#39;t know what was happening with them,\u0026quot; Sergey recalls. \u0026quot;No letters, no visits, no phone calls.\u0026quot; Later, Sergey was allowed to correspond. \u0026quot;In the letters, we could chat about everyday things and feel as if we were together,\u0026quot; Melnik added. \u0026quot;Through friends, I even managed to send my wife bouquets with cards.\u0026quot;\nSergey was in the penal colony from March 2022. There, he could keep in touch with relatives through short phone calls. Family and friends continued writing to him, and a few months before his release, the number of letters reached 5,000. Melnik tried to reply to each one, devoting his free time to this. Sergey is passionate about football, so friends wrote to him about what was happening in the league .\nWhile in prison, Sergey trained as a cook and worked in the cafeteria 2 days on, 2 days off. \u0026quot;At first, it was hard even to do chopping, memorize recipes and their sequence, but then I got the hang of it and started doing everything quickly,\u0026quot; he says. The work was physically demanding: he had to get up earlier than others and spend the whole day on his feet, serving more than a thousand inmates three times a day. This workload didn\u0026#39;t stop Sergey from loving cooking: he prepared meals together with other inmates in his unit and shared unusual recipes with them.\nThe attitude of staff in the penal colony and inmates toward Sergey was friendly; many were surprised by his optimism and cheerful nature. \u0026quot;The guys there called me \u0026#39;the man with the smile.\u0026#39; They used to say: \u0026#39;Seeing Sergey standing there smiling when we walk into the cafteria, makes our day,\u0026#39;\u0026quot; recalls Melnik. The believer received no awards.\nAt time of publication, in 2025 15 of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses have been released from Russian penal colonies. Another 126 believers are still serving time in prison.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-12-18T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/12/191109/image_hu_e2d614bd26492efe.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/12/191109/image_hu_9fa193986a959524.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/12/191109/image_hu_1670a87eabc39c3f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/12/191109/image_hu_2138cc1e10476721.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/12/191109.html","regions":["volgograd","kirov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Another Believer from Volga Region, Sergey Melnik, Leaves Penal Colony — 6-Year Term Served","type":"news"},{"body":"\u0026quot;December is now my favorite month,\u0026quot; said Andrey Stupnikov, anticipating his release. The long-awaited day came on December 15, 2025. He shared his first moments of freedom with his wife Olga and their friends, who last saw him outside prison about 4.5 years ago.\nAndrey served his sentence in penal colony No. 5 in Kirovo-Chepetsk. During his imprisonment, Stupnikov was hospitalized twice. The believer described that period as one of the hardest. \u0026quot;Everything came at the same time,\u0026quot; he said, \u0026quot;the most serious health problems and immense pressure from the prison staff. For two months they recorded all sorts of [concocted] violations, issued reprimands, and conducted additional searches in the cell.\u0026quot; Andrey and those around him even found some of the fabricated penalties amusing: \u0026quot;Later, many joked that I was probably the only person who had never smoked but was reprimanded for \u0026#39;smoking in a prohibited area.\u0026#39; We understood it was completely unfair, but we had to learn to react calmly.\u0026quot;\nStupnikov worked in the sewing workshop 6 days a week. Andrey would get up between 4 and 5 a. m. to read the Bible, pray in peace and recover emotionally. Also, because he was sentenced under an article for a serious crime, the administration placed him under preventive monitoring as \u0026quot;liable to escape.\u0026quot; This meant that he was checked every 2 hours, including at night.\nBible training and a sense of humor helped Andrey endure the hardships of imprisonment. He noted that it was important for him to behave confidently, \u0026quot;like a victor, not a victim.\u0026quot; Over time, his conduct earned him respect from the administration and other inmates, who addressed him by his name and patronymic. One of them described Stupnikov as \u0026quot;a man with a capital M.\u0026quot; The head of the colony often said to Andrey: \u0026quot;If Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses are working, there's no need to worry about the quality.\u0026quot;\nAndrey\u0026#39;s prosecution also affected his wife. \u0026quot;We\u0026#39;ve been married for 32 years. During that time, we became like one and were never apart for long. Due to the separation, half of me seemed to stop existing. I was afraid I would give up. During the day, I tried to keep busy with various tasks, but evenings and nights I was tortured by loneliness,\u0026quot; Olga Stupnikova said about that period of her life. The pain of separation was worsened by the thought that all correspondence with her imprisoned husband was censored. \u0026quot;Extended visits every 3 months were a great support for us,\u0026quot; Olga recalls. \u0026quot;Only there could we talk about what was dear and important to us.\u0026quot;\nIn the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a total of 36 Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses are facing criminal prosecution; at present, 6 men remain behind bars, including elderly ones.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-12-15T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:28","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/12/151604/image_hu_78a73b432a89ac7f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/12/151604/image_hu_b51d5804f5c57dec.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/12/151604/image_hu_f76765ba96ee0f4.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/12/151604/image_hu_2b013fc7c02e10af.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/12/151604.html","regions":["krasnoyarsk","kirov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","shizo","video"],"title":"Andrey Stupnikov Released From Penal Colony — Legal Action for His Faith Has Already Gone on for 7.5 Years","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 5, 2025, Igor Egozaryan was released from the penal colony. He had been sentenced to 6 years. He actually spent more than 3.5 years in the correctional facility. Taking previous restrictions into account, his term was recalculated, and he was released earlier than originally planned.\nThe believer served his sentence in two penal colonies in Udmurtia — in Liuga and Sarapul. After his transfer, Igor had to adapt to many things, since the facility had previously been a high-security penal colony, and for some time, old, stricter rules were still in effect. This was evident both in the regulations and in the administration\u0026#39;s attitude toward inmates. Igor had many personal belongings taken away, even all his socks except the black ones. Once a week, inmates underwent a full personal search, whereas in the previous penal colony, such procedures were carried out only a couple of times. All this was discouraging, but there were also positive changes. For example, Igor was pleased with the new, more nourishing rations, which included milk and omelets.\nDuring his years in the penal colony, Igor worked in various workshops. At first, he was in the sewing unit. At that time, the supervisor made an exception and allowed him to sew warm trousers for himself. Later, he moved to the metalworking shop due to health problems: working with synthetic padding had affected him negatively. Igor also completed training as a stoker.\nWhile imprisoned, Igor received numerous letters from around the world. However, some letters were heavily censored: they were delivered with extensive redactions, trimmed pages, or without a reply envelope. Twice, Igor\u0026#39;s Bible was confiscated — in Liuga, this was explained by the absence of a special stamp from the Orthodox Church, and in Sarapul, the believer was deprived of his Bible even though it bore stamps from the local eparchy and the correctional colony.\nThree fellow believers of Igor Egozaryan, who were convicted along with him, are expected to be released next year.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/12/100826/image_hu_87351006e0c9637c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/12/100826/image_hu_688b6e22fad433b5.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/12/100826/image_hu_7b28225bdb237080.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/12/100826/image_hu_11285fcacd47da16.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/12/100826.html","regions":["volgograd","udmurtia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"First of Jehovah’s Witnesses Convicted in Volgograd Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 14, 2025, two of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, Oleg Shidlovskiy, 56, and Aleksey Goreliy, 45, were released in the Ulyanovsk Region. They served their sentences in full, having spent almost 2.5 years in a pretrial detention center and about 3 years in a penal colony.\nBefore his arrest, Oleg Shidlovskiy worked for about 30 years as a physical education teacher in one of the schools in Gukovo (Rostov Region). His wife Natalya, who had previously suffered three strokes, was left alone with her teenage daughter. \u0026quot;At the very beginning, it was difficult... to accept being separated from my husband. Then a feeling of loneliness set in,\u0026quot; she recalls. They had their share of difficulties around the home: \u0026quot;The roof was damaged, it began to rain, and the heating did not work. Problems came one after another... What would I have done without friends!\u0026quot;\nOleg also felt that he was not forgotten. \u0026quot;I want to mention the special support of those who wrote letters,\u0026quot; Oleg said after his release. \u0026quot;During the 5 years, I received about 7600 letters. This was really strong encouragement. I felt that I was not alone, but part of a large loving family.\u0026quot;\nIn the penal colony, Oleg worked in the sewing workshop. He complained of fluctuating blood pressure, and the medications he was given did not always help. He lost his sight in one eye. According to the ophthalmologist, he needed surgery, which could not be carried out in the penal colony. The administration treated the believer with respect because of his good conduct.\nAleksey Goreliy also was the sole breadwinner in his family; he worked as a chief accountant for a manufacturer. His arrest came as a shock to his wife, Inna. She relates: \u0026quot;It seemed as if the ground was collapsing beneath me.\u0026quot; Raising their son, who joined first grade in 2020, fell entirely on her shoulders: \u0026quot;Our son often asked: \u0026#39;When will they release dad?\u0026#39;\u0026quot; Aleksey also found it hard being separated from his family: \u0026quot;The most difficult thing is not seeing my only child growing up.\u0026quot;\nThe men were convicted under the article on organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Their case became part of a large-scale prosecution of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses in today's Russia. The rest of the defendants in the case: Nikita Moiseyev, Yevgeniy Razumov, Vladimir Popov and Aleksey Dyadkin — are due to be released in May and June 2026.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-11-14T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/11/171611/image_hu_145b654117ec654.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/11/171611/image_hu_18032b803f5595ed.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/11/171611/image_hu_569b8de80a388a1.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/11/171611/image_hu_82bddf7a32f38e0c.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/11/171611.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Oleg Shidlovskiy and Aleksey Goreliy Released After More Than 5 Years of Having Been Separated from Their Families","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 13, 2025, Vardan Zakaryan's imprisonment came to an end. After leaving the penal colony, he met his friends who had come to support him. The long-awaited meeting lasted only about 5 minutes — the believer was taken to a deportation center, where he is awaiting removal to his homeland.\nIn total, Zakaryan spent almost 5 years in various forms of detention. It all started with a violent search of his home in Moscow, after which the believer was hospitalized with concussion. He has not been free since: from the hospital he was taken to a temporary detention facility, then he was placed under house arrest for 2.5 years, after that about a year in a Moscow pretrial detention center and the rest of the term in penal colony No. 4 in Torzhok.\nFriends are waiting for Vardan Zakaryan near the penal colony Vardan Zakaryan The believer walks free Zakaryan is driven to a deportation center Penal colony in Torzhok, where the believer served his sentence Conditions in the penal colony were not easy: constant interruptions with the hot water; food was scarce. Food parcels from friends and the penal colony store helped to brighten up everyday life. Vardan also had health problems: a trophic ulcer opened on his leg — so serious that doctors spoke of the risk of amputation. Surgery was avoided, thanks to the help of friends who provided the necessary medicines. During his detention Vardan never stopped worrying about his relatives: caring for his family and his bedridden mother fell on the shoulders of his wife.\nZakaryan is a highly skilled tailor with more than 30 years experience. He earned the respect of both the penal colony administration and other prisoners due to his skills and hard work. Over time, Vardan was assigned to train others in sewing.\nFour more of Zakaryan's fellow believers, convicted in the same criminal case, continue serving their sentences in penal colonies.\nVardan Zakaryan was deported to Armenia three days after his release from penal colony. ","category":"sentence","date":"2025-10-13T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:35","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/10/131414/image_hu_e93ad6c7b7c69b9f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/10/131414/image_hu_4548e7d3f438ef85.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/10/131414/image_hu_636b485eaab68b4e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/10/131414/image_hu_e4e1a7230f3cdce6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/10/131414.html","regions":["moscow","tver"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","deportation","282.2-1","video","citizenship-deprivation"],"title":"Freedom for 5 Minutes — Vardan Zakaryan Has Served His Sentence for His Faith and Awaits Deportation to Armenia","type":"news"},{"body":"The believers received parcels from relatives in the pretrial detention center. Gorev was also given a letter from his wife.\nBagin tries to stay optimistic, but worries about his wife, who recently underwent major surgery. The believer has his own health problems — he suffers from asthma, and has previously had heart surgery. He needs medication.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Bagin and Others in Mayna","date":"2025-10-05T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/mayna/index.html#20251005","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"After being separated for 5 years, Konstantin Sannikov, 55, father of four, was reunited with his family at the gates of the penal colony in Almetyevsk. On September 10, 2025, he completed the sentence imposed by a court for his religious beliefs as one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses.\n\u0026quot;In our letters, my wife, Ira, and I compared being in prison to a long opaque glass,\u0026quot; Konstantin recalls. \u0026quot;It was as if we saw only a silhouette of each other and walked along the glass: she on one side, me on the other. We told each other, \u0026quot;It will end someday.\u0026quot; And finally, we met and hugged.\u0026quot;\nKonstantin was isolated from his familiy the first 2 years behind bars: the investigator did not allow him any visits or phone calls. Konstantin\u0026#39;s daughter, Margarita, recalls: \u0026quot;Dad was missing at dinner; we missed his advice and hugs.\u0026quot; The only way to communicate was letters, which became a \u0026quot;breath of fresh air\u0026quot; for the Sannikovs. It was not only Konstantin\u0026#39;s family who wrote to him, but so did hundreds of other caring people from different countries and territories. The staff of the pretrial detention center tried to deprive him of this joy — once they ordered the believer to put in writing to reject receiving any correspondence, except from his relatives. Konstantin refused. After that, he was placed in a special cell, where loud music was played continuously for 3 days and nights. \u0026quot;I didn\u0026#39;t know how long I would last before going crazy,\u0026quot; the believer recalls.\nHundreds of caring individuals wrote to the believer while he was in the penal colony. Upon his release, he carried with him an entire bag filled with their messages. September 10, 2025. Family members embrace Konstantin at the checkpoint. September 10, 2025. Konstantin Sannikov reunited with his family upon release from the penal colony. September 10, 2025. Konstantin and Irina Sannikov. September 10, 2025. Konstantin’s loved ones gave him a warm welcome. Text on the poster: \u0026#34;Konstantin, welcome home! We missed you so much.\u0026#34; September 10, 2025. Konstantin and his family remember that the first year of imprisonment was the hardest. The believer was kept in overcrowded cells at the detention center; they had to sleep in turns — there were not enough beds. For 6 months Sannikov suffered from hypertensive crises. \u0026quot;I couldn\u0026#39;t even tilt my head to look at a letter,\u0026quot; he recalls. Thanks only to the efforts of relatives, it was possible to get the necessary medicines.\nThe believer\u0026#39;s wife said that during these years their friends were their support. They were interested in how things were going, helped financially, provided food, wrote cards, sent flowers to Irina. \u0026quot;It was genuine care. We are very grateful,\u0026quot; says Irina.\nLooking back, Sannikov stated that his faith, that had put him behind bars, helped him survive. \u0026quot;I can say for sure, never have I had such a strong relationship with Jehovah God.\u0026quot;\nIn February 2023 Konstantin Sannikov was sentenced to 6.5 years in a penal colony on charges for extremism. Taking into account his time in the pretrial detention center, his term of imprisonment is considered to have been fully served, but the additional punishment in the form of restriction of freedom for 1 year remains in force. Two more believers from Tatarstan remain in prison for their beliefs.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-09-10T14:46:29+03:00","duration":"0:41","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/09/101446/image_hu_a6983efd9301f3c6.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/09/101446/image_hu_57fbd2e4d3b2b0b.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/09/101446/image_hu_db33d3643ff2ff14.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/09/101446/image_hu_c4e820d06732cd64.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/09/101446.html","regions":["tatarstan"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video"],"title":"\"And Finally We Meet\" — Konstantin Sannikov Fully Served His Sentence for Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 5, 2025, 63-year-old Vladimir Skachidub left the penal colony where he served time for peacefully practicing his faith. His wife and friends met him when he arrived at the railway station in Tikhoretsk, which is near his native village of Pavlovskaya.\nVladimir has been behind bars since October 2021. He served his sentence in a penal colony in the village of Stenkino, Ryazan Region, which is 1200 kilometers from his home. Skachidub applied for parole, but the court refused him, despite awards he received for conscientious work.\nEven before the prosecution, Vladimir\u0026#39;s health was poor — he has been registered disabled due to a neurological disease; he suffered a heart attack, after which he had to undergo surgery to have a stent inserted. Being imprisoned had a negative impact: Skachidub fell from the top bed several times while having epileptic seizures; an inflammation developed on his skin and ear, which needed medical treatment. The believer did not have any serious problems with receiving medical care.\nPenal colony No. 6 in the Ryazan Region, where the believer served his sentence Friends meet Vladimir at the penal colony exit The believer goes home after his release Vladimir Skachidub after his return from the penal colony Vladimir worked in the sewing workshop — this work brought him joy. A source of support, according to him, were letters from caring people and prayers from friends. Furthermore, even in prison, Vladimir found an opportunity to continue with his hobby — chess: he played with a man from the UK, sending and receiving moves by correspondence.\nThe administration staff and other prisoners treated the believer with respect; many addressed him by his first name and patronymic. One of the inmates, who at first felt hostility toward Skachidub, changed his attitude when he saw the kindness of the believer and said: \u0026quot;You, Vladimir, are a true Christian.\u0026quot;\nFour more believers from the Krasnodar Territory serving prison terms for their faith.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-09-05T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:35","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/09/081524/image_hu_77b50302720f0a4f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/09/081524/image_hu_95b9fb2b3a05e85d.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/09/081524/image_hu_1972b071d0d1d2c6.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/09/081524/image_hu_d148fbe8015af3ed.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/09/081524.html","regions":["krasnodar","ryazan"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","disability","elderly","282.2-2","282.2-1.1","video"],"title":"Jehovah's Witness Vladimir Skachidub Released After Almost 4 Years Imprisonment","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 29, 2025, Oksana Chausova was released after 751 days spent under various forms of restriction of freedom — house arrest, prohibition of certain actions, imprisonment in a pretrial detention center and in a penal colony. Her husband, Dmitriy, also convicted for his faith, could not meet her, as he is still under restrictions.\nLooking back, Oksana recalls that the living conditions in the pretrial detention center were far from easy. She had to scrub the cell clean for several days. On top of that, it was so cold that she had to wear warm clothes and even sleep in her jacket.\nThe Chausovs stated that being separated was the most difficult test that the prosecution brought. \u0026quot;For a long time, I could neither write to nor see my husband,\u0026quot; Oksana recalls. \u0026quot;The first time we met was nearly 5 months after the arrest, at a joint court hearing. Oh, and what a meeting... And then again 2 months of complete silence. I cannot describe this pain.\u0026quot; Dmitriy added: \u0026quot;When we went to court, we had a brief moment to find out how each of us was doing. When I saw Oksana, I was so happy — it was a support for me.\u0026quot;\nOksana Chausova in front of the penal colony where she served her sentence, August 29, 2025 Oksana Chausova with her mother on the day of her release, August 29, 2025 Oksana Chausova, August 29, 2025 Prison scarf with Oksana Chausova\u0026#39;s name, August 29, 2025 Prayer, comforting words from the Bible, as well as the support of her husband and fellow believers helped Oksana to withstand the difficulties. \u0026quot;Providing food and other necessary things is a huge task. We really appreciate those who spent their time and energy taking care of us,\u0026quot; the couple said.\nPersecution because of their faith is part of the history of Oksana Chausova\u0026#39;s family: in Soviet times, her grandfather spent 6 years in a high-security correctional labor colony. Despite the hardships, he remained true to his beliefs. Oksana cherishes this legacy and often imagines how proud her grandfather would be of her resilience and loyalty if he could learn about her trials.\nThe Leninskiy District Court of Kursk sentenced the Chavusovs in December 2024 — they were given 2.5 years imprisonment. A few months later, the court of appeal commuted the sentence, reducing the term of imprisonment by 8 months. Dmitriy was released in the courtroom, as he had fully served his sentence in the pretrial detention center.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-08-29T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:37","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/09/011614/image_hu_e80777b84912f57f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/09/011614/image_hu_981bcb58cc5ce53e.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/09/011614/image_hu_eb0fa20cab076325.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/09/011614/image_hu_7a5ad40cefb5cb25.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/09/011614.html","regions":["kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video","descendants-repressed"],"title":"Oksana Chausova, One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Kursk, Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 27, 2025, the prison term of Sergey Tolokonnikov, 52, ended — 3 years in a pretrial detention center and 9 months in a penal colony. To the delight of the believer he was met by his wife and many friends on the day of his release.\n\u0026quot;I have mixed feelings... Although I knew that I was about to be released there was also the feeling of excitement. I knew that God would help me,\u0026quot; said Sergey. His wife, Mariya Pankova, added: \u0026quot;Although Sergey and I have not fully grasped what is happening, I am overjoyed!\u0026quot;\nSergey and his wife Mariya on the day of his release, June 27, 2025 Being separated was difficult for the couple. At first, the investigator banned visits for 8 months; later only brief meetings through glass and bars. \u0026quot;Life was on hold... I became like a bird missing one wing, unable to fly,\u0026quot; Mariya said. The couple were allowed an extended visit only a month before his release. \u0026quot;He looked like a youthful old man,\u0026quot; she recalls. \u0026quot;He lost more than 20 kilograms, had problems with his skin and indigestion.\u0026quot;\n\u0026quot;There were difficult moments,\u0026quot; Sergey agreed, \u0026quot;but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.\u0026quot; According to the believer, a good attitude is half the battle; therefore, once behind bars, he tried to find at least five positive things in each day.\nA few months before his release, Tolokonnikov learned that a criminal case had also been initiated against Mariya. \u0026quot;I was very upset; I immediately started praying to God for help. Okay, it's one thing for me, but for Mariya — or anyone else — I don\u0026#39;t want that. It's a very serious test, since I know what she might be facing.\u0026quot;\nIn October 2024, another defendant in Sergey\u0026#39;s criminal case, Roman Mareyev, was released. Anatoliy Marunov, 71, continues to serve his sentence in a penal colony in the Tambov Region.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-06-27T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:34","image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/06/271836/image_hu_534795df4c8b501a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/06/271836/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/06/271836/image_hu_2332165a3df9972c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/06/271836/image_hu_fff67d144af76fe0.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/06/271836.html","regions":["moscow","vladimir"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","video"],"title":"Sergey Tolokonnikov from Moscow, Released from Penal Colony — But Now His Wife is Under Investigation for Her Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"The Lesosibirsk City Court changes the preventive measure against Andrey Shiyan to a recognizance agreement due to his severe diabetes — a disease preventing detention. His life depends on regular medication and he needs constant medical observation. Thanks to the court's decision, he will be able to stay at home until his case is considered in the court of appeal.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Shiyan and Matveeva in Lesosibirsk","date":"2025-05-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/lesosibirsk3/index.html#20250529","regions":["krasnoyarsk"],"tags":["release","recognizance-agreement","health-risk"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On April 30, 2025, Inver Siyukhov, 51, who had been convicted for his faith, was released. He spent 4 years in the pretrial detention center, where the length of punishment is calculated on the principle of 1 year for 1.5 years. This is a record length of time that any Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness was held in a pretrial detention center. At the checkpoint, the believer was met by his relatives.\nInver Siyukhov was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment, but he was never sent to a penal colony. From the moment of his arrest until his release, he was in a pretrial detention center (Facility used for pretrial detention) at strict regime penal colony No. 1 in the village of Tlyustenkhabl, which is about 110 km from Maykop. Conditions of detention in such a facility are much harsher than in a penal colony. For a long time, Inver almost did not go out for walks due to the fact that about 40 prisoners were taken out into the small prison yard at the same time - most of them smokers. In such conditions, there was no opportunity to breathe fresh air or take any exercise. Even when indoors, Inver had to wear a hat due to the cold and constant drafts.\nAt the exit from the pretrial detention center, Inver Siyukhov was met by his sister and his appointed lawyer Zarieta. April 2025 Inver Siyukhov (center) and his sister with her husband. April 2025 Inver Siyukhov against the background of the pretrial detention center. April 2025 \u0026quot;In winter, there was sometimes no heating for weeks. If the temperature dropped below minus five degrees, frost formed on the walls, and it was very cold in the cell; we slept in our clothes. Also, there was often no hot water,\u0026quot; the believer said about his time in detention. \u0026quot;Food was scarce, but relatives and friends regularly sent parcels. This helped not only me, but also other prisoners who saw the generosity of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, and their bias disappeared.\u0026quot;\nFor 2 months after his arrest, Siyukhov did not have a Bible, and the first letters were handed over to him only 5 months later, after appeals to various authorities, including the Commissioner for Human Rights. Subsequently, he received over 1000 letters. Inver, expressing gratitude to everyone who supported him, said: \u0026quot;One of the \u0026#39;experienced\u0026#39; prisoners even admitted that he had never seen so many letters here before. And when the colony staff said that all these letters were for one person, he was completely shocked.\u0026quot;\nA letter of gratitude that Inver Siyukhov received from another prisoner. It says: \u0026lsquo;Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for being you! You make this world a better place! To the best of your ability, you try to make this world a better place day by day. Reminding and showing by example what we should be, what we can become. As we may have been, but at some point we lost ourselves. Your eyes always shine with warmth.\u0026rsquo; Wherever Inver was, he tried to provide practical help to those around him. After just 2 months in the detention center, 1 prisoner admitted that he had stopped lying, and 2 more quit smoking. One of his former cellmates sent a letter of gratitude to Inver and his fellow believer Nikolay Saparov. \u0026quot;Even here, you help people feel happy at least for a moment,\u0026quot; he wrote. \u0026quot;You managed to restore my faith in people... This world needs you, we all need you!\u0026quot;\nIn the Republic of Adygea, after the release of Inver Siyukhov and Nikolay Voishchev, Nikolay Saparov remains in prison; he is due to leave prison in September 2026.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-04-30T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/04/301437/image_hu_3ee5f030574ac306.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/04/301437/image_hu_7bf7e43e791aa523.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/04/301437/image_hu_3f7fab4e0d68aa48.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/04/301437/image_hu_2d4c2ff2929db57f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/04/301437.html","regions":["adygea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Inver Siyukhov, One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Maykop, Served His Sentence and Was Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On April 28, 2025, Nikolay Voishchev was released. For his faith in Jehovah God, he spent more than 900 days (about 30 months) in prison: a little less than a year in a pretrial detention center, and the rest of the time in a penal colony. Voishchev served his sentence in Almetyevsk, which is almost 2000 kilometers from his home.\nNikolay, being a man of kind disposition, maintained good relations with other prisoners throughout his term. Being of pension age, the believer did not work in the penal colony but trained as a boiler room operator.\nNikolay Voishchev in front of the correctional facility Friends shared Nikolay\u0026#39;s joy of being released Voishchev\u0026#39;s prisoner tag Nikolay Voishchev surrounded by his friends View of Penal Colony No. 8 of the Republic of Tatarstan Three days after his release, Nikolay returned home. At the railway station, he was met by his relatives. April 2025 Pretrial detention and being in the penal colony worsened Nikolay\u0026#39;s already poor health. Prior to his arrest, he was diagnosed with a tumor that required treatment. At first, he did not receive the necessary medication in the detention center, but later he started receiving them. He was also sent to the regional hospital for examination. The believer suffered from severe headaches, caused amongst other things by the stress he encountered. Due to being often near smokers, his hypertension worsened.\nDespite all his difficulties, Nikolay did not despair. Throughout his imprisonment, he was supported by relatives and friends. He emphasizes that these trials did not weaken him. \u0026quot;I have been a Christian for over 50 years. What happened to me certainly did not alter my faith,\u0026quot; Nikolay Voishchev said after his release.\nIn May 2025, another Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness from Adygea, Inver Siyukhov, is to be released. He was sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony because of his faith.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-04-28T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/04/291328/image_hu_93c4f48533fe6d45.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/04/291328/image_hu_e7b07e82dea8bbad.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/04/291328/image_hu_3f8ef233ec476a9.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/04/291328/image_hu_182f2165ecce1f01.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/04/291328.html","regions":["adygea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","prison-treatment"],"title":"Nikolay Voishchev, 69, Released from Penal Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On April 9, 2025, Artur Putintsev, Vladimir Melnik and Vladimir Piskarev were released from colonies in the Oryol, Kirov and Kaluga regions, respectively. They served their sentences in full, having spent more than 3 years in pre-trial detention centers and more than a year in colonies. The believers were met by their relatives, as well as many friends.\nThree men ended up behind bars in December 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, as well as due to the fact that the wives were witnesses in the case, there were problems with visits. Irina Melnik recalls: \"At first, they didn't give me a visit. They were gone for about 3 months. Then 2 times a month we saw each other on short dates... But it was at a distance of 1 meter through the glass and bars, by telephone. We were able to see each other and hug only in July 2024 on a long date.\" Vladimir Melnik and Artur Putintsev also experienced health problems during their imprisonment. In the pre-trial detention center, Vladimir Piskaryov's blood pressure problems worsened, he suffered a stroke and repeated hypertensive crises, as well as an acute attack of gastrointestinal disease, which caused him to be hospitalized.\nArtur Putintsev leaving the penal colony. April 9, 2025 Artur Putintsev embracing his wife, Lyudmila. April 9, 2025 Artur Putintsev\u0026#39;s inmate ID tag Artur and Lyudmila Putintsev. April 9, 2025 Vladimir Piskarev surrounded by Friends. April 9, 2025 Vladimir Piskarev meeting his wife, Tatyana, after his release. April 9, 2025 Vladimir Melnik at the penal colony\u0026#39;s checkpoint. April 9, 2025 Vladimir Melnik, his wife and two of their daughters. April 9, 2025 Vladimir Melnik with his wife Irina, April 9. 2025 Thanks to their exemplary behavior in the penal colony, the men earned a good reputation with the administration, as well as other prisoners. Out of respect for the believers, some of them stopped using abusive language and tried not to smoke in their presence. Artur Putintsev was nicknamed \"the hand of God\" in the penal colony for his generosity toward other prisoners.\nFriends and relatives supported the believers by sending them letters, and also provided material and practical assistance to their families. For example, Artur Putintsev's friends repaired the roof and fence of his house. Also, fellow believers drove the wives of the prisoners to courts and visits and helped making parcels.\nThe Oryol Region is the region where the prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses began shortly after the ban on their legal entities in 2017. A total of 8 believers from this area became defendants in criminal cases for their faith. Four of them have already been released from the penal colony, and two continue to serve their sentences of forced labor.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2025-04-09T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2025/04/091111/image_hu_79858b7fdc0292a5.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2025/04/091111/image_hu_9fbc64a22dd54b75.jpg","webp":"/news/2025/04/091111/image_hu_5ccc6225770975f5.webp","webp2x":"/news/2025/04/091111/image_hu_41ef2b732b00786.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2025/04/091111.html","regions":["oryol","kaluga","kirov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","families"],"title":"Three Jehovah's Witnesses from Oryol Were Released","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 25, 2024, Roman Mareyev, 46, was released, having completely served his sentence for his faith. After the guilty verdict, he was never transferred to the penal colony. In total, he spent 1,100 days in three different pretrial detention centers in Moscow.\nA criminal case against Mareyev was initiated in October 2021 and then his home was searched. He was placed in a temporary detention facility and then in a pretrial detention center. When Roman was placed in the pretrial detention center, he did not have a bed and slept on the floor. The believer\u0026#39;s sister said that it was not easy for him to be in a smoky cell, hear obscene language from his cellmates and try to sleep with the TV turned on day and night. Reading the Bible, regular physical exercise, and weekly letters from family, friends and even people he did not know, helped Roman to stay positive. \u0026quot;During my years in detention, I received letters from 68 countries, not counting Russia,\u0026quot; Roman said.\nRoman\u0026#39;s elderly parents, who are disabled, were very much looking forward to their son returning home. He is glad to be able to take care of them again.\nMareyev liked showing kindness to others while he was in detention. According to Roman, some inmates admitted that they had never before experienced such a positive atmosphere among cellmates. \u0026quot;This was possible because millions of people were praying,\u0026quot; he said.\nRoman and those close to him are grateful to everyone who went to the court hearings. \u0026quot;We had to stand outside all day in bad weather, but the friends were ready to make these sacrifices just to meet and see off the prison van with applause,\u0026quot; his sister said. \u0026quot;Once the guys were taken out of the courthouse at 1:30 a.m., and despite such a late hour, they were greeted with applause.\u0026quot;\nTwo other defendants in the criminal case, Anatoliy Marunov and Sergey Tolokonnikov, are still in custody.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-10-25T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/10/280915/image_hu_a2c7c50b313bd391.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/10/280915/image_hu_4cdefe47a30477ce.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/10/280915/image_hu_860fe4a97c97f853.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/10/280915/image_hu_6677a4c587658fc9.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/10/280915.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Roman Mareyev Released After 3 Years in Pretrial Detention","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 9, 2024, Arsen Avanesov, 41, was released from Penal Colony No. 3 for the Ulyanovsk Region. He was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for practicing the religion of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses. Subsequently, the believer spent 2.5 years in a pretrial detention center and about 3 years in a penal colony.\nArsen was released as the last of three defendants in a criminal case, which was initiated by the Rostov-on-Don Investigative Committee in 2019. In February 2024, Arsen\u0026#39;s elderly father, Vilen Avanesov, was released from the colony having spent almost 5 years behind bars, and in August 2024, Aleksandr Parkov completed his term.\nIn the penal colony, Arsen worked in a sewing workshop and established himself as a reliable and hardworking person. For his hard work and participation in the colony\u0026#39;s sports events, he received several awards.\nLetters of support and parcels that he received from different countries helped the believer greatly to remain optimistic. One day, Arsen received a parcel from England — an elderly couple sent him, among other things, eyeglasses, which were useful to other believers imprisoned in the same colony.\nShortly before his release, Arsen said that in his \u0026quot;thoughts he is already at home,\u0026quot; but he is worried that he \u0026quot;will have to learn how to do some things again\u0026quot; after 5.5 years behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-10-09T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/10/091530/image_hu_d132dab7285b550e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/10/091530/image_hu_4e3c79516dd60dfa.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/10/091530/image_hu_e97f5e0a7fe2db74.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/10/091530/image_hu_e144ed8a7302fe26.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/10/091530.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","282.2-1","282.3-1"],"title":"Arsen Avanesov From Rostov Was Released From the Penal Colony, Having Completely Served the Term for His Faith in Jehovah God","type":"news"},{"body":"Dmitriy Terebilov, who complete his prison term for his faith on September 5, remains behind bars. Already on August 26, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma ruled to place Terebilov in a pretrial detention center in the second case – for conversations about the Bible with another prisoner.\nThe investigation interprets such conversations as \u0026quot;the involvement of convicted persons... in the activity of an extremist organization.\u0026quot; The man Terebilov had been talking to, was working with the investigation, pretending to be interested in the Bible.\nThe administration of Penal Colony No.1 in the Kostroma Region, where the believer was previously held, refused to give Dmitriy any letters of support containing God's name. Terebilov also faced other restrictions. \u0026quot;Whatever he did: read the Bible, prayed to God, told others about his faith, it can be equated to violating the law,\u0026quot; said Dmitriy\u0026#39;s lawyer; yet, none of the above is forbidden to prisoners professing other religious views.\nThe believer considers such treatment a violation of his rights, therefore he appealed against the actions of the colony administration in the district and regional courts, but they did not rule in favor of Terebilov.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-08-26T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/09/091450/image_hu_65fa359c7f00a5d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/09/091450/image_hu_c0e1f92884b6bfcf.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/09/091450/image_hu_4054f40088a3bc3b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/09/091450/image_hu_aa230fb402d46285.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/09/091450.html","regions":["kostroma"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","sizo","letters"],"title":"Dmitriy Terebilov Served His Sentence for His Faith, but Was Not Released — the Court in the Second Case Placed the Believer in a Detention Center","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 9, 2024, Aleksandr Parkov, 56, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, was released from Penal Colony No.10 for the Rostov Region. The believer spent a total of 5 years and 2 months in a detention center and the penal colony for talking about the Bible.\nParkov\u0026#39;s wife, Galina, also faced prosecution for her faith. She was given a 2-year and 3-month suspended sentence. While her husband was imprisoned, Galina lost her job due to criminal prosecution. She is very grateful to her family and friends for their emotional and material support.\nAleksandr Parkov met his friends when leaving the penal colony, August 9, 2024 Galina said that her husband lives by the principle \u0026quot;if you want it to be good, create that \u0026#39;good\u0026#39; around you.\u0026quot; Administration employees and his cellmates treated Parkov with respect. He worked in a blacksmith\u0026#39;s shop and received awards. According to Galina, good habits, hard work and letters of support helped Aleksandr to survive these difficult times.\nTwo more defendants in the Parkov case are Arsen and Vilen Avanesov. Vilen has already been released after almost 5 years in the penal colony, Arsen remains in the penal colony.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-08-09T09:58:46+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/08/090958/image_hu_a592aec73fe7e378.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/08/090958/image_hu_af9060dd2b1d3b05.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/08/090958/image_hu_ff2c761a65a8ac95.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/08/090958/image_hu_6e5ffdb2f6746bad.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/08/090958.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","282.2-1"],"title":"In Rostov-on-Don, Aleksandr Parkov Was Released After 5 Years Imprisonment for His Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 12, 2024, Vasiliy Meleshko, 63, one of Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness from the village of Kholmskaya, was released from penal colony No.11 in the Krasnodar Territory. The believer served his sentence in full.\nThe criminal prosecution of Vasiliy Meleshko began in the spring of 2021, and in the fall of the same year, the Abinskiy District Court convicted Vasiliy in just two sessions - 3 years imprisonment. In fact, the believer spent a little more than 2 years and 9 months in the penal colony, but taking into account his time in pretrial detention, the sentence in terms of imprisonment is considered to be served. According to the verdict, Vasiliy\u0026#39;s freedom will be restricted to some extent for one more year after his release from the penal colony.\nMeleshko spent part of his term in the penal colony under strict conditions of detention, where the rights of prisoners are infringed more than usual. Several times he was transferred to a \u0026quot;prison within the colony\u0026quot; -- a cell-type room or a punishment cell. The believer\u0026#39;s chronic illnesses were exacerbated, and he was treated in the prison hospital.\nIt was especially difficult for Vasiliy to endure the long separation from his wife, with whom he has lived for 42 years; never being apart for more than a week. Zoya Meleshko said: \u0026quot;It wasn\u0026#39;t until nine months [after Vasiliy\u0026#39;s detention] that we saw each other on a long visit and were finally able to hug. We couldn\u0026#39;t hold back the tears and couldn\u0026#39;t stop talking.\u0026quot;\nDue to the fact that Vasiliy was kept in strict conditions, the couple saw each other only once every four months, so the main method of communication was letters. \u0026quot;Vasiliy wrote very affectionate, tender letters, assuring me of his love,\u0026quot; Zoya revealed.\nThe Abinskiy District Court has already sentenced eight Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses from the village of Kholmskaya to imprisonment. Four have been released after serving their sentences.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-07-12T16:25:59+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/07/121625/image_hu_e18440252225d488.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/07/121625/image_hu_d6abc35466d4a51c.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/07/121625/image_hu_cf9f420050a22997.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/07/121625/image_hu_6acf6433bf9d876f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/07/121625.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","282.2-2","shizo","strict-conditions","prison-treatment","elderly"],"title":"Vasiliy Meleshko Released After Serving His Term in a Penal Colony for His Faith in Jehovah","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 14, 2024, two Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witnesses, Aleksandr Korolev, 45, and Denis Antonov, 47, were released from penal colony No.12 in Mordovia. They were happily met by relatives and friends.\nThe court sentenced the men to 2.5 years imprisonment in August 2022. They spent about 5 months in a pretrial detention center and 1 year and 5 months in a penal colony. Taking into account their pretrial detention, they fully served their sentence for their faith. In the penal colony, Korolev was sent to a punishment cell three times.\nReleased believers with friends and family, June 14, 2024 Olga and Denis Antonov when he was released, June 14, 2024 Denis and Olga Antonov on the day of his release, June 14, 2024 Natalia Koroleva meets Aleksandr as he leaves the penal colony, June 14, 2024 Aleksandr and Natalia Korolev on the day of his release, June 14, 2024 A criminal case against Korolev and Antonov was initiated in March 2019. Due to the criminal prosecution and his imprisonment, Denis Antonov lost his business. He was also providing for the elderly mother of Olga, his wife. All this time, Denis and his family were supported by fellow believers. \u0026quot;My wife and I have everything we need and even more,\u0026quot; Denis Antonov said during the trial.\nIn this criminal case, three more believers remain in custody: Georgiy Nikulin and his wife Yelena, as well as Vladimir Atryakhin. Yelena has to serve another 2 years and 2 months of her sentence, Georgiy — 1 year and 7 months, and Vladimir — 3 years and 9 months.\nIn total, 9 people have already been subjected to religious persecution in Mordovia.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-06-14T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/06/170845/image_hu_d044177b79e986c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/06/170845/image_hu_426b024529455622.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/06/170845/image_hu_f2c934ec577e3260.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/06/170845/image_hu_63cce5d67df2f955.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/06/170845.html","regions":["mordovia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Aleksandr Korolev and Denis Antonov Released From Penal Colony in Mordovia After Fully Serving Their Sentences for Their Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"After spending a little more than 2 years and 3 months in a penal colony, Olga Ivanova, a 41-year-old Jehovah's Witness, was released on June 11, 2024. She has served her sentence in full.\nIn correctional colony No. 7 in the Stavropol Territory, Ivanova had to work hard in cloth cutting workshop. Her mother said: “She was so tired that in the morning she wanted to cry, because a night's rest wasn't enough, but she had to go back to work for 12 hours. She worked even on Saturdays, with only one day off.” For health reasons, Olga was exempt from working in the workshop for the last few months.\nCorrectional Colony No.7 in the Stavropol Territory, where Olga served her punishement Olga Ivanova\u0026#39;s mother meets her after her release Olga Ivanova\u0026#39;s friends welcome her after her release Olga Ivanova\u0026#39;s friends welcome her after her release Olga had a good relationship with her cellmates. She maintained her joy and a positive attitude thanks to her faith. According to Olga, praying helped her greatly along with letters from friends, which she received even in the pretrial detention center during her transfer.\nOlga Ivanova's husband, Yevgeniy, continues to serve a long term of imprisonment in Tatarstan. In a penal colony in the Stavropol Territory, another believer from Astrakhan, Anna Safronova, continues to serve time for her religious beliefs. Across the country, 96 more Jehovah's Witnesses are imprisoned for their beliefs.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-06-11T08:20:58+03:00","duration":"0:38","image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/06/110820/image_hu_6266b2d8441a771a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/06/110820/image_hu_afc4ea968ff63e4c.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/06/110820/image_hu_ff20ea95920516a4.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/06/110820/image_hu_c016edc86db916a6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/06/110820.html","regions":["astrakhan","stavropol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families","video"],"title":"Olga Ivanova, Convicted for her Faith in God in 2021, Released from the Penal Colony in Zelenokumsk","type":"news"},{"body":"At the request of the correctional colony, judge Nadezhda Kuchukova imposed administrative supervision on Vasiliy Meleshko. In addition to the restrictions imposed earlier, the believer is forbidden to leave the Abinsk district without the permission of the internal affairs bodies. In addition, the man is obliged to come to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 4 times a month and cannot be outside the house from 22:00 to 6:00. These restrictions will be in effect for the next 3 years.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Meleshko in Kholmskaya","date":"2024-05-23T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kholmskaya6/index.html#20240523","regions":["krasnodar"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On March 1, 2024, Oleg Danilov, convicted for his faith in Jehovah God, was released from the penal colony in the town of Dvubratskiy. He was met by relatives and friends.\nOleg Danilov is a third-generation Jehovah\u0026#39;s Witness. Back in 1958, his grandparents got to know believers exiled to Siberia. Soon the repressions also affected Oleg\u0026#39;s family: his uncle was sentenced to 3 years for refusing to serve in the army on religious grounds. Oleg became a victim of persecution for his faith, 60 years later.\nIn March 2021, the Abinsk District Court found Danilov, who lived in Kholmskaya town, guilty of extremism. During his imprisonment, the believer had to serve his term in 3 colonies; he spent most of his time in strict conditions of detention \u0026ndash; due to unjustified penalties from the colonies\u0026#39; administration, Oleg was placed in a punishment cell.\n\u0026quot;Oleg and I have always been very close,\u0026quot; said Danilov\u0026#39;s wife, Natalia. \u0026quot;When he was taken away, it was as if a part of me had been torn out and a bleeding wound was left.\u0026quot; She also noted: \u0026quot;The carefree youth of our sons abruptly turned into adulthood with responsibilities and solving many problems. But they handled it very well. Oleg \u0026#39;s example, which they had seen when he was around, helped them a lot.\u0026quot;\nOleg Danilov meets his wife. March 1, 2024 Friends greatly supported the Danilov family. \u0026quot;Words cannot express how much love I felt from the brothers and sisters during this difficult time. They were always there, calling, writing, giving flowers, postcards, gifts, letters and much more,\u0026quot; Natalia said.\n\u0026quot;Looking at my father, I understand that his faith is not built on a shaky foundation,\u0026quot; Oleg\u0026#39;s son, Nikita said before his father\u0026#39;s release. \u0026quot;It\u0026#39;s not easy to accept all the challenges. It\u0026#39;s not easy to say goodbye to your family, it\u0026#39;s not easy to love your enemies, it\u0026#39;s not easy to encourage others when it\u0026#39;s hard for yourself. He gave his life into the caring hands of Jehovah, and as these events have shown, God will never abandon us.\u0026quot;\nIn the town of Kholmskaya, with a population of less than 19,000 people, 7 believers have faced criminal prosecution. In addition to Danilov, two of his fellow believers have already served their sentences in a penal colony: Aleksandr Shcherbina was released in February, and Aleksandr Nikolayev in September 2023.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-03-01T16:32:22+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/03/011632/image_hu_acdb5f2f6f85970b.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/03/011632/image_hu_a1e9607e2f9a4647.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/03/011632/image_hu_d46f0537c3567e78.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/03/011632/image_hu_b77734757afb463b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/03/011632.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","ussr-repression"],"title":"Oleg Danilov, One of Jehovah's Witness from Kholmskaya, Was Released After Serving 3 Years in Prison for His Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 9, 2024, Vilen Avanesov was released from Penal colony No.3 in Dimitrovgrad, having served his sentence imposed by the court. For talking about God with friends at home, the elderly believer spent 2.5 years in a detention center and more than 2 years in a penal colony.\nVilen served his sentence in the penal colony together with his son Arsen, who will have to spend another year in prison. Both worked in the sewing department. They received several rewards for their hard work. Largely due to Vilen\u0026#39;s love for people, he developed friendly relations with his cellmates and the administration. \u0026quot;He was respected in the detention center and respected in the colony,\u0026quot; said Vilen\u0026#39;s wife, Stella.\nThe most difficult thing for Vilen was the being separated from his loved ones. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the believer could not see his wife for 1.5 years. \u0026quot;He always tried to maintain a positive attitude, to look cheerful, and this comforted me a lot,\u0026quot; said Stella.\nDuring imprisonment, Vilen received many letters, photographs and postcards from all over the world. His wife received also practical assistance. \u0026quot;Our friends proved to be a real protection during times of distress. Nothing stopped them from showing care, love and kindness,\u0026quot; she says. \u0026quot;Fellow believers from the city where the penal colony is located became a great support. They took me into their home when I came to visit; every month they took food and medicine to the penal colony, their help is priceless\u0026quot;.\nIn August 2024, the sentence of another defendant in this criminal case, Aleksandr Parkov, who is in penal colony No.10 in the Rostov Region, ends.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2024/02/121547/image_hu_d1c27ac9eb6070a3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2024/02/121547/image_hu_4a535712e8671363.jpg","webp":"/news/2024/02/121547/image_hu_1b507f975e725385.webp","webp2x":"/news/2024/02/121547/image_hu_f31da682c7c665a3.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2024/02/121547.html","regions":["rostov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","families","letters"],"title":"Vilen Avanesov, Convicted for his Faith in Jehovah God, Was Released After Almost 5 Years Behind Bars","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 3, 2023, Aleksandr Shevchuk was released from Penal Colony No. 12 for the Republic of Mordovia. For \"disseminating belief\" in Jehovah God, he spent almost 2 years behind bars – 9 months in a pretrial detention and 8.5 months in the penal colony.\nAleksandr Shevchuk is a descendant of Jehovah's Witnesses, who were exiled to Siberia and later exonerated as victims of Stalinist repressions. He was detained after searches in February 2019. At the time of the trial, he was released under a recognizance agreement. Aleksandr served the sentence imposed by the court in correctional colony No. 12 for the Republic of Mordovia.\nWhile serving his sentence, Aleksandr Shevchuk worked in the sewing workshop. The administration and the prisoners treated him with respect.\nAccording to Aleksandr, he had the opportunity more than once to defend his Bible-based beliefs behind bars. \"At first, my cellmates were hostile to my position. But over time, they understood, and we had good conversations,\" Shevchuk said about one of the periods of being under arrest. \"Such conversations helped me to maintain my joy. Of course, not just them. Letters from friends brought special joy. There was something in every letter that was especially for me.\"\nAccording to the lawyer, one of the employees once even said that \"this place is not for him.\"\nThe rest of the defendants in the case - Georgiy and Yelena Nikulin, Vladimir Atryakhin, Aleksandr Korolev and Denis Antonov - are still serving sentences in correctional colonies for their faith in God.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-11-03T09:47:55+02:00","duration":"0:34","image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/11/030947/image_hu_53dfc755e5fcc638.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/11/030947/image_hu_e75fb8651168acf8.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/11/030947/image_hu_66df6ba09e0df889.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/11/030947/image_hu_76b8f493e7446a4b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/11/030947.html","regions":["mordovia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","video","descendants-repressed"],"title":"Saransk Resident Aleksandr Shevchuk, one of Jehovah's Witnesses Convicted for his Faith, was Released From the Penal Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 19, 2023, Aleksandr Nikolayev, a father of five, was released from the penal colony in Khadyzhensk, where he spent almost a year for his faith in Jehovah God. The believer was met by his wife and children, and mother-in-law. At the exit of the penal colony FSB and OMON officers were on duty, and there were several police vans.\nThe verdict - 2.5 years imprisonment - was handed down to Nikolayev in December 2021. Aleksandr was the first believer to be given a prison sentence after the decision of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, explaining that participating in meetings for worship is not a reason for conviction under Article 282.2 of RF CrC. Despite this, he was found guilty of extremism for reading a Bible passage via videoconferencing.\nAleksandr was detained in September 2021. In total, he spent 13 months in a pretrial detention center and 11 months in a penal colony. For some of the time, he was held in strict detention conditions. The believer was also denied parole. All this time, Aleksandr was strengthened by letters of support coming from around the world.\nIn the Krasnodar Territory, 32 of Jehovah's Witnesses are already being prosecuted for their faith, 6 of them are in penal colonies. On September 15, Maksim Beltikov from the village of Pavlovskaya was released from prison.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-09-19T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/09/200858/image_hu_a4ac8588904be0c3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/09/200858/image_hu_fd61aaf035baefd9.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/09/200858/image_hu_90b3328fa6a406ce.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/09/200858/image_hu_b4daee7d4b999411.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/09/200858.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","strict-conditions","282.2-2","letters"],"title":"Aleksandr Nikolayev, Father of Five, Convicted for His Faith, Was Released from the Penal Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 15, 2023, Maksim Beltikov was released from penal colony No. 9 in the Krasnodar Territory, having fully served his 2-year sentence for his faith in Jehovah God. He was met by his family and many friends.\nThe criminal case against Beltikov was initiated in June 2020 after the FSB raided the homes of believers in several villages in the Krasnodar Territory. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom immediately after the verdict was announced in January 2022. He spent 8 months in a pretrial detention center and 1 year in a correctional facility.\nMariya Beltikova and her three sons waiting for Maksim\u0026#39;s release Maksim Beltikov leaving the penal colony The believer hugging his youngest son Joyous meetting with his wife and older sons Maksim Beltikov wiping tears from his youngest son\u0026#39;s face Family and friends of the Beltikovs meeting Maksim The believer served part of the sentence under strict detention conditions. According to his lawyer, despite the difficulties, including gradually weakening eyesight, he never complained. Hundreds of letters of support, along with other things, helped him cope.\nSix more Jehovah's Witnesses from the Krasnodar Territory continue to serve sentences for their faith in penal colonies. Among them is Lyudmila Shchekoldina, whose sentence ends in April 2026.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-09-15T00:00:00Z","duration":"0:35","image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/09/180854/image_hu_671e753cd2107e2f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/09/180854/image_hu_c323b22f7ae95c40.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/09/180854/image_hu_fd4729d9aa5eb742.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/09/180854/image_hu_557b653349cc9a9f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/09/180854.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","letters","strict-conditions","video"],"title":"Maksim Beltikov, Prisoner of Conscience and Father of Three, Was Released From Penal Colony in Khadyzhensk","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 26, 2023, Sergey Klimov was released from the penal colony where he served a sentence for his faith in Jehovah God. Sergey's relatives and many friends met him with flowers and posters. During the prosecution the believer spent a total of 5 years behind bars.\nSergey was detained and placed in a pretrial detention center back in June 2018 after searches in the city of Tomsk. In April 2020, when the court of appeal upheld the verdict — 6 years in a penal colony — Klimov was transferred to Astrakhan Penal Colony No. 8. Since 1 day in pretrial detention counts as 1.5 days in a penal colony, Sergey spent 3.5 years in the penal colony after the verdict was announced.\nDuring his imprisonment, Sergey's eyesight deteriorated. In October 2020, doctors discovered that he had a serious lung condition, and the believer spent 1.5 months in a medical correctional facility.\nYulia Klimova meets Sergey at the checkpoint Sergey Klimov with his wife Yulia, daughter and son-in-law Sergey Klimov\u0026#39;s friends celebrate his release Gifts for Sergey Klimov Sergey Klimov with his friends after his release Friends and relatives meet Sergey Klimov outside the penal colony Sergey was not allowed to see his wife during his first 9 months behind bars. Until then, they could only talk over the phone. Sergey received hundreds of letters from fellow believers from different cities and countries.\nAt present, 127 of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia (including 7 women) are imprisoned for their faith. The ECHR and human rights activists from different countries call on the Russian Federation to stop mass repressions against believers.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-07-26T16:41:25+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/07/261419/image_hu_235ac941e50975a7.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/07/261419/image_hu_654bd8b84f95902a.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/07/261419/image_hu_8d9455a70696a9fd.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/07/261419/image_hu_b6012ef78462797a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/07/261419.html","regions":["tomsk","astrakhan","volgograd"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","282.2-1"],"title":"Sergey Klimov Released From Penal Colony in Astrakhan; He Has Served His Sentence","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 19, 2023, Yuriy Savelyev was released from Penal Colony No. 5 in the Altai Territory; he has fully served his sentence. Dozens of friends came to meet the believer.\nSixty-nine-year-old Yuriy Savelyev is one of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia whose criminal prosecution for his faith has been dragging on since 2017. The elderly believer was under covert video surveillance. In November 2018, a criminal case was initiated against Yuriy, and in the same month, he ended up in a pre-trial detention center, where he stayed for more than two years until the verdict was announced. In December 2020, the court sentenced Savelyev to six years in a penal colony. Since one day of pre-trial detention counts as one and a half days in a general regime colony, Yuriy actually spent 760 days in a correctional facility after the verdict.\nHe served this term in Rubtsovsk. The administration of the colony, on far-fetched grounds, repeatedly subjected the believer to harsh conditions—a punishment cell and a cell-type room. Yuriy spent a total of nine months in such conditions. In addition, the believer was sent for compulsory \"medical treatment,\" which he did not need. In the fall of 2021, Yuriy's son died. In the spring of 2023, Savelyev had a severe case of pneumonia.\nSavelev was supposed to leave the colony on March 25, 2023. However, on the basis of a court order, his detention was extended until July 19 of the same year. The defense does not agree with this decision and continues to appeal against it.\nDespite these difficulties, Yuriy did not become discouraged while waiting for his release. He says that prayer and reading the Bible were of great help. He was also encouraged by letters of support from all over the world: Savelyev received about 20,000 letters during his imprisonment.\nSo far, 126 of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have been sentenced to actual prison terms for their faith, 69 of whom have been in prison. In total, more than 2,000 searches have already been conducted in the homes of believers in Russia, and more than 730 people have faced criminal prosecution for their faith.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-07-19T09:43:07+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/07/190943/image_hu_e99f0ffe1e28bf61.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/07/190943/image_hu_3b986d5c5491b56b.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/07/190943/image_hu_33ea65e8c10e070.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/07/190943/image_hu_c4d3847f0f0602c1.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/07/190943.html","regions":["novosibirsk","altaisky"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","elderly","strict-conditions","forced-hospitalization"],"title":"Sixty-Nine-Year-Old Yuriy Savelyev Was Released From a Penal Colony in the City of Rubtsovsk","type":"news"},{"body":"Penal colony No. 5 in the Altai Territory (23 Traktornaya Street, Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory).\n","caseTitle":"Case of Savelyev in Novosibirsk","date":"2023-07-19T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/novosibirsk3/index.html#20230719","regions":["novosibirsk"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On April 7, 2023, Rustam Seidkuliev was released from a penal colony in the Saratov Region. As he walked out, he was met by his wife and dozens of friends who came to support the believer.\nIn January 2020, a criminal case was initiated against Rustam Seidkuliev under the article on participation in the activities of an extremist organization. On May 20, 2021, the Leninskiy District Court found him guilty and sentenced him to two and a half years in a general regime penal colony. Later, the Saratov Regional Court reduced this term by two months.\nDuring his criminal prosecution, Rustam spent two and a half months in a pre-trial detention center, more than seven months under house arrest and one year and eight months in a penal colony. Just before the release, the believer said that he was in good physical shape and in good spirits. “Since the start of my term, I have received more than 3,000 letters,” Rustam said. “Unfortunately, due to the busy work schedule, it was not possible to answer all of them, but I am very grateful for each of them and for every prayer.”\nIn the colony, the believer worked in a carpentry shop, and in his free time he read books from the library and exercised. According to Rustam, in general, the administration of the colony treated him with respect.\nThe ruling of the ECHR dated June 7, 2022, which fully exonerated Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, states that “the imposition of criminal sanctions for manifestation of religious beliefs amounts to an interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion...” (§ 264)\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-04-07T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/04/101437/image_hu_49fe219aa3ccc61d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/04/101437/image_hu_8289d5a36711bd08.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/04/101437/image_hu_b8eee357cdc4d694.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/04/101437/image_hu_ba785eb658587a1d.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/04/101437.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","282.2-2"],"title":"Rustam Seidkuliev Served His Sentence for His Faith and Was Released From the Penal Colony in Saratov","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 22, 2023, Aleksandr Shcherbina was released after serving his full term of imprisonment for his belief in Jehovah God. Earlier, the court of appeal commuted his sentence, reducing the period of stay in the penal colony from three years to two.\nShcherbina faced criminal prosecution in 2020, when homes of Jehovah's Witnesses were searched in villages of the Krasnodar Territory. After the charge of extremism, 2 months of judicial proceedings followed. As a result, the believer was sentenced to imprisonment in a penal colony only because of his religion.\nLooking back, Aleksandr recalls that at the stage of investigative actions, “the most difficult thing was the conversation with the investigator, his questions and desire to extract the necessary information, as well as his reaction when I refused to cooperate with him.”\nIn the penal colony, the administration and prisoners treated the believer with respect. Although there were difficulties: upon arrival, Aleksandr was twice placed in a punishment cell for far-fetched reasons, he was not given personal correspondence for some time, and his requests for a Bible remained unanswered.\nAleksandr Shcherbina with friends on the day of his release from the penal colony. February 22, 2023 Despite this, Aleksandr did not lose heart. Later, he got a Bible anyway, and during his imprisonment he received more than 3,000 letters of support. Also, in the penal colony, the believer mastered a new profession as an auto mechanic.\nJehovah's Witnesses Artem Gerasimov and Sergey Filatov continue serving their 6-year sentences in the same penal colony. They should be released in 2026.\nThe judgment of the European Court of Human Rights of June 7, 2022 states:: “The imposition of criminal sanctions for manifestation of religious beliefs amounts to an interference with the exercise of the right to freedom of religion” (§ 264). But Russian courts continue to convict law-abiding citizens only for their choice of religion.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-02-22T14:42:16+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/02/220913/image_hu_ba2dc2c2c1b0291f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/02/220913/image_hu_d4e5a5331144aa76.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/02/220913/image_hu_c6ccc7b518f83528.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/02/220913/image_hu_9b4a83cb8a89230c.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/02/220913.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","282.2-2"],"title":"Aleksandr Shcherbina Released. He Spent 2 Years in a Penal Colony For His Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 22, 2023, to the applause of relatives and friends, Andrey Andreyev was released from a penal colony in Lipetsk. He served the complete term given by the court - 4.5 years - for his faith in Jehovah God.\nAbout a hundred people waited for more than two hours in a temperature of -17 degrees to welcome Andrey.\nIn fact, Andrey Andreyev spent 3 years, 4 months and 9 days behind bars. For most of this period, he was in a pre-trial detention center.\nRecalling his stay in the detention center, Andrey said: “[It] did not make me bitter, although all this time I was surrounded by negativity... I prayed daily to maintain my love for God and my neighbor. I have no resentment, no hatred towards anyone, not even anger, because this would not be right. Some cellmates in the detention center were inspired by Andrey's healthy lifestyle: they decided to quit smoking and take up sports.\nOn January 20, 2022, Andreyev was taken to a penal colony in Lipetsk to serve his remaining sentence. There he worked as a roofer. For good work, the believer received a commendation from the administration, but a few days later he was fined on trumped-up charges. According to the lawyer, this was done to deprive Andrey of the grounds for parole.\nOf the five convicted Jehovah's Witnesses from Kursk, Andrey Andreyev received the most severe punishment. Other defendants in the case - Andrey Ryshkov, Artem and Alevtina Bagratyan - have already been released, and Alexandr Vospitanyuk is still serving a suspended sentence.\nThe believers still consider their criminal prosecution groundless and unfair. The European Court of Human Rights agrees with them. In its judgment of 7 June 2022, it acknowledged that the Russian Federation had violated the right to freedom of religion of Jehovah's Witnesses: “By prosecuting the applicants merely for continuing worship, the Russian authorities imposed a disproportionate and unjustifiable burden on their exercise of freedom of religion and association” (§ 260).\n","category":"sentence","date":"2023-02-22T14:26:25+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2023/02/220915/image_hu_18d579a62b34e545.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2023/02/220915/image_hu_6e0e0cf51b1721be.jpg","webp":"/news/2023/02/220915/image_hu_2dad0404e8bd7dde.webp","webp2x":"/news/2023/02/220915/image_hu_82fa0743d789db83.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2023/02/220915.html","regions":["kursk","lipetsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["282.2-1","release"],"title":"Andrey Andreyev, the Last of the Kursk Jehovah's Witnesses Convicted for Their Faith, Released From the Colony","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 30, 2022, Sergey Polyakov's sentence ended and he was released. The believer served the full term of imprisonment - 3 years, of which he actually spent about 1.5 years in the penal colony.\nIn November 2020, a district court found Polyakov guilty of extremism because of his religion. After an appeal confirmed the verdict in May 2021, Sergey was transferred to Valdai, which is 3,000 kilometers from his hometown. The journey took almost 2 months, and in August he arrived at penal colony No. 4 in the city of Valdai.\nIn the colony Sergey had the opportunity to work as a contractor. He had good relations with both the prisoners and the administration—he was respected as a prisoner for his faith, there were no conflicts.\nThanks to the onsite library, Polyakov received a Bible. He was greatly supported by letters from friends and relatives. He says that he received more letters a day than the entire colony (about 250 people). Sergey was visited by his wife several times.\nOn June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights fully acquitted Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and ruled to stop persecuting them for their faith.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2022-11-30T16:13:16+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/11/301613/image_hu_e5183260910eeff3.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/11/301613/image_hu_8b9e47a6d656caca.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/11/301613/image_hu_508f102814e07174.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/11/301613/image_hu_3e8a41f91457b8a7.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/11/301613.html","regions":["omsk"],"subtitle":"He Served a Sentence of Three Years in a Penal Colony","tags":["release","letters","282.2-1","282.3-1","families","life-in-prison"],"title":"Sergey Polyakov, One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Omsk, Was Released.","type":"news"},{"body":"After his release from prison and extradition, Dennis Christensen arrives in Denmark. The Russian authorities revoked his residence permit in the Russian Federation.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Christensen in Oryol","date":"2022-05-25T09:21:59+03:00","permalink":"/en/cases/oryol/index.html#20220525","regions":["oryol"],"tags":["release","deportation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On May 25, 2022, Dennis Christensen and his wife arrived safely in their native Denmark. This happened the day after his release from a Russian colony, where he spent 5 years for his faith. “I’m very happy to be released from prison and reunited with my dear wife, Irina,” said Dennis. “I want to thank the Danish government, especially the consular office in Moscow, for trying to help me. I am also grateful to my brothers and sisters in the faith who supported me and my wife spiritually, emotionally, and physically.”\nAround 130 people gathered in the morning of 24 May near the penal colony # 3 in the city of Lgov (550 kilometers from Moscow) to welcome Dennis. But the meeting did not happen because the migration service officials immediately took him and brought to Moscow airport to leave country.\nDennis was arrested and detained on May 25, 2017, when armed and masked Russian authorities raided a congregation meeting in the city of Oryol (350 kilometers from Moscow) that he was attending. He was subsequently convicted of organizing the activity of a religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Just one month before that, all organizations of that religion in Russia were declared extremist and banned by Russia’s Supreme Court, but the local organization in Oryol was banned even earlier, which became the basis of criminal prosecution of Christensen.\nRussian authorities have repeatedly confirmed that the 2017 ban is restricted to legal entities of Jehovah’s Witnesses, claiming that it does not interfere with the rights of individual Witnesses to practice their faith. However, Dennis’ detention was the start of an aggressive campaign of arresting and imprisoning many Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout Russia and Crimea.\nThe Royal Danish Embassy in Moscow repeatedly sent representatives to the court in Oryol. They petitioned that Christensen be held under house arrest, not colony, and provided the necessary guarantees. However, the court did not release Christensen from the colony until he had served his entire sentence, six years in the penal colony. (Christensen spent the first 2 years in a detention center, where incarceration is considered harsher than in a penal colony, and where one day's stay equals 1.5 days in a penal colony.) In 2018, the Kingdom of Denmark applied with the European Court of Human Rights to intervene as a 3rd party in the case of Christensen v. Russia. A judgment on this complaint has not yet been issued.\nChristensen was serving his sentence in the penal colony in Lgov. The administration of this penal colony repeatedly imposed additional unreasonable sanctions on him, which left him in even harsher conditions inside the colony. Russian courts did not grant his petitions for mitigation of the remaining sentence. After his release from the colony, Russia annulled the grounds for his residence in Russia and expelled him.\nAs of today, 91 of Jehovah's Witnesses remain behind bars in Russia. \"My heart is with my dear brothers and sisters in the faith who were victims of criminal prosecution for their faith,\" says Dennis Christensen. \"These people have nothing to do with extremism, they are suffering unjustly because they have been victims of religious persecution. I continue to pray for my courageous brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.\"\nDennis Christensen is a Danish citizen born in Copenhagen. For the last 20 years, he has been married to a Russian citizen, Irina, therefore he lived in Russia and worked in the field of assembly construction.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2022-05-25T08:59:13+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/05/260859/image_hu_b68fe0bd32b108c1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/05/260859/image_hu_bf625c30bc0fe92e.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/05/260859/image_hu_9cafeb07c7f2561f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/05/260859/image_hu_1394075311760b9b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/05/260859.html","regions":["oryol","kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","deportation"],"title":"Dennis Christensen Released From Russian Prison and Deported to Denmark","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 24, 2022, Dennis Christensen was released from the colony. For his faith, he spent a total of 5 years behind bars.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2022-05-24T11:58:16+03:00","duration":null,"image":false,"permalink":"/en/news/2022/05/241158.html","regions":["kursk","oryol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Dennis Christensen Released From Prison","type":"news"},{"body":"The Supreme Court of the Republic of Khakassia does not satisfy the prosecutor's appeal against the court's decision of February 22, 2022. The believer receives parole. Valentina Baranovskaya is released.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20220504","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["release","life-in-prison","mitigation","elderly"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On May 4, 2022, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Khakassia approved the decision of the Ust-Abakan district court about the parole of 71-year-old believer. She was greeted on her way out of the colony by her many friends.\nThe court considered the appeal of the prosecutor against the decision of the judge of the Ust-Abakan district court Maria Zablotskaya of February 22, 2022. A few months earlier the believer had petitioned for parole. The court granted it, but Abakan's assistant prosecutor V. Hasan filed a complaint against this decision. The woman was forced to remain behind bars until the appeal hearing. This further aggravated her health condition, as Valentina suffered a stroke in 2020.\nIn October 2021, the believer, who is convinced that she did not commit anything illegal, had already asked for a commutation of her sentence due to her illness. She had petitioned the same court, but was denied. Her next petition for parole, filed several months later, was granted.\nAlmost three years ago, in April 2019, a criminal case was opened against Valentina Baranovskaya and her son Roman Baranovskiy under the article \"participation in the activities of a liquidated organization.\" This is how law enforcers regarded the usual practice of believers to meet and discuss the Bible in a circle of friends. Mother and son received unprecedentedly harsh sentences: Valentina received two years in prison and Roman received six years. Roman Baranovskiy remains in a penal colony, where he will spend another five years.\nThere are still 13 Jehovah's Witnesses over the age of 60 in prisons at the moment. The oldest is Vilen Avanesov, who will turn 70 in 2022.\nUnfortunately, such unjustified persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses continues in dozens of Russian regions. The world community condemns the persecution of peaceful believers simply because they remain faithful to their religious beliefs.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00Z","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/05/050853/image_hu_489a3fdd028e1d83.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/05/050853/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/05/050853/image_hu_eb3d8437c6b19e83.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/05/050853/image_hu_e341af1160f5bd56.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/05/050853.html","regions":["khakassia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["elderly","release","parole","appeal","families","282.2-2"],"title":"The Oldest Believer Was Released From Prison on Probation. The Court of Appeal Approved the Decision to Release Valentina Baranovskaya","type":"news"},{"body":"Another hearing is being held in the case of two believers. The court gets acquainted with the material evidence, audio recordings are listened to.\nJudge Nikolai Glistin changes the measure of restraint for Anton Kuzhelkov from imprisonment. He was released from the pre-trial detention center on the same day. In total, the believer spent 430 days in custody.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Kuzhelkov and Prokhorov in Kirsanov","date":"2022-03-01T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kirsanov/index.html#20220301","regions":["tambov"],"tags":["first-instance","release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Judge of the Ust-Abakan District Court Maria Zablotskaya satisfies Valentina Baranovskaya's petition for parole. This decision was opposed by the prosecutor and the administration of Correctional Colony No. 28, arguing that Valentina \"did not repent\" because she did not stop professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Within 10 days, the prosecutor's office may appeal the court decision. The elderly woman has been behind bars for a year.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Baranovskiy in Abakan","date":"2022-02-22T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/abakan/index.html#20220222","regions":["khakassia"],"tags":["life-in-prison","mitigation","release","elderly"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"In 2021, one of the first Jehovah's Witnesses that was sent behind bars after the Russian Supreme Court decided to ban the organization was released from prison and deported from Russia. His story is told in this four-minute video.\nAs soon as Konstantin Bazhenov left the colony, he was detained and deported to Ukraine because his Russian citizenship was revoked due to criminal prosecution.\nIt all began on June 12, 2018, when searches took place in Konstantin Bazhenov's apartment, as well as in 6 other dwellings of believers. After that, he was charged with extremism. As a result, Konstantin and five other believers were sent to the pre-trial detention center.\nKonstantin Bazhenov: “The FSB, the investigator and the operatives promised me that if I plead guilty, I will start cooperating with them, they will guarantee me a suspended sentence, and that I will not go to prison.” Konstantin refused to cooperate with the investigator, as this would mean giving up his faith. In total, Konstantin spent almost a year in a pre-trial detention center and waited for a court decision under a ban on certain actions for several more months. The investigation accused him of organizing the activities of an extremist organization.\nKonstantin Bazhenov: “The main accusation was based on the fact that in the winter, in January 2018, we held a religious meeting. We read the Bible there, sang spiritual songs, discussed how to live according to biblical principles. The investigator interpreted this religious meeting as if we were holding a meeting of a legal entity banned in Russia.”\nOn September 19, 2019, the judge announced the verdict: 3.5 years in a general regime colony. After 3 months, the court of appeal upheld this verdict and on February 4, 2020, Bazhenov was sent to a correctional colony.\nKonstantin Bazhenov: “On February 8, 2020, I was brought to the correctional colony-3 in the city of Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region. I worked at the prison store. I received a lot of letters. The operational officer called me and said: “Bazhenov, we receive 300 letters a year for the entire colony. You alone received more than 300 letters in a month.\" He says: \"What are you doing? Do you want our inspector to drown in these letters?\" Well, I explained that people want to support me, somehow encourage, encourage me.\nKonstantin spent another 1 year and 3 months in the colony and was released on parole on May 5, 2021.\nKonstantin Bazhenov: “It was a happy moment - I saw Irina, my wife, hugged her. The head of the detachment says: “Konstantin, I didn’t expect so many people to be present! I knew that you have brothers and sisters, they write letters to you. But that so many people will come to meet you ... \"He says:\" Yes, you are a happy person!\nWhen the day of the deportation came, Konstantin's fellow believers gathered to support him. Konstantin Bazhenov: “On May 19, we arrived at the border. They checked our documents, all issued. I was met by brothers and sisters with a poster, flowers. My dear wife, Irina, was present. And it was such a joy, such an unforgettable moment, how we saw each other, how we could hug. As Jehovah promised that he would provide a way out in trials - behold, he provided me with a way out. I left the colony, left the deportation center. Indeed, he pushed away all the barriers and made it possible for my wife and I to meet on the day of our wedding anniversary. Such a happy moment.\"\nAfter his release, Konstantin and Irina Bazhenov live in Ukraine.\nOver the past 4.5 years, 322 Jehovah's Witnesses have been imprisoned. As of February 2022, 65 believers are awaiting sentencing behind bars and another 18 are serving sentences in penal colonies. 8 Jehovah's Witnesses have served their sentences in full and have been released from prison.\n","category":"eyewitnesses","date":"2022-02-04T12:24:06+02:00","duration":"4:08","image":{"jpg":"/news/2022/02/041224/image_hu_455e594491c818d2.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2022/02/041224/image_hu_37e6bdf124a6ade7.jpg","webp":"/news/2022/02/041224/image_hu_ebd4bfd8dda949a9.webp","webp2x":"/news/2022/02/041224/image_hu_c71f0296c4d39e0b.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2022/02/041224.html","regions":["saratov","ulyanovsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["deportation","release","282.2-1","video","citizenship-deprivation"],"title":"Arrested, Convicted, Served Time, Deported. What Is Occurring With Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Based on Konstantin Bazhenov's Experience","type":"video"},{"body":"The Kursk Regional Court denies Andrey Andreyev, Andrey Ryshkov, Aleksandr Vospitanyuk, and Artem and Alevtina Bagratyan their appeals against their convictions. It comes into force.\nOn the same day, Andrey Ryshkov leaves the pre-trial detention center, having served his sentence.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Andreyev and Others in Kursk","date":"2022-01-20T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kursk/index.html#20220120","regions":["kursk"],"tags":["appeal","release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On December 30, 2021, residents of Berezovsky, Sergey Britvin and Vadim Levchuk, were released, having completely served the sentence imposed by the court in a correctional colony in Novosibirsk. For the long-awaited meeting with them, relatives, friends and relatives traveled more than 300 kilometers.\nAt the exit from the colony, the believers were greeted with applause by about 30 people, including the wife of Sergey Britvin, Natalya, and the eldest son of Vadim Levchuk. His wife Tatyana and his youngest son were unable to come to Novosibirsk due to illness.\nIn September 2020, the Berezovskiy City Court of the Kemerovo Region sentenced two believers to 4 years in prison for talking to others about the Bible. The court was not embarrassed by any falsifications in the case, or false testimony of witnesses, or the absence of corpus delicti and victims. The appellate instance upheld the verdict.\nDue to the long stay of the believers in the pre-trial detention center, during the investigation, they had to spend about 10 months in the colony during the investigation. De facto, they spent 250 days under house arrest, 700 days in a pre-trial detention center and another 297 days (9 months, 3 weeks and 1 day) in correctional colony No. 3 in Novosibirsk.\nIn prisons, Vadim Levchuk was placed in a punishment cell and under strict conditions of detention on trumped-up charges. Sergey Britvin faced other difficulties. He is a disabled person of the II group and cannot lift more than 2 kilograms, therefore, many everyday tasks are beyond his strength. Prisoners helped Sergey solve everyday problems: for example, they washed his clothes and heated water for him.\nAs the believers themselves said, letters from all over the world were a special source of support for them in the colony. Prisoners were surprised that even those with whom they did not personally know wrote to believers. Vadim Levchuk recalls: \"When 88 letters were brought to me for the first time, I leaned over the window in the cell door to thank the operative. She also leaned over and said: \"Let me at least look at you, otherwise everyone in the letters is interested in how you feel.\"\n“While in prison, Vadim gratefully recalled the smiles of his loyal friends, their support during the court hearings, how they inspired him with applause,” says Tatyana, Vadim's wife.\nIn addition to Levchuk and Britvin, 11 other Jehovah's Witnesses from the Kemerovo region were prosecuted on the basis of religious discrimination, three of them were sentenced to suspended sentences.\nDuring 2021, several anti-records were registered in Russia – in the number of sentences to Jehovah's Witnesses, in their cruelty, as well as in the number of believers in colonies and pre-trial detention centers. However, the end of the year was marked by the ruling of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in defense of believers and the first acquittal.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-12-30T14:52:21+02:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/12/301452/image_hu_30742fe55148d2bb.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/12/301452/image_hu_6f86857e86927cc4.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/12/301452/image_hu_3364bd47a0c2e15b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/12/301452/image_hu_b6ec1fbb4024c853.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/12/301452.html","regions":["kemerovo","novosibirsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","disability","letters"],"title":"Vadim Levchuk and Sergey Britvin Released After Concluding their Prison Sentences for a Conviction on Practicing their Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"Sergey Britvin and Vadim Levchuk are released after serving the full 4 years in prison assigned to them by the court.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Levchuk and Britvin in Beryozovsky","date":"2021-12-30T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/beryozovsky2/index.html#20211230","regions":["kemerovo"],"tags":["life-in-prison","release","letters","disability"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On August 3, 2021, Aleksey Miretskiy was released. He became the last of Jehovah's Witnesses convicted in 2019 to serve their entire sentence in a penal colony for their religious beliefs. The believer was met by his wife Yulia.\nIn September 2019, Ph.D. Aleksey Miretskiy was convicted under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of extremist activities). The court considered it a crime to read the Bible, sing songs and prayers. The believer spent a total of 1 year, 10 months and 16 days behind bars. After his release, his freedom will be limited for another year; in addition, he is deprived of the right to engage in activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public organizations for 5 years.\nLike other believers who ended up in Correctional Colony No. 1 in the Orenburg Region, Aleksey Miretskiy was severely beaten by the employees of the institution. After that, the believer's health worsened, and even the question of surgical intervention arose. The difficulties did not end there. Aleksey suffered a viral disease in the colony. Using his right, Miretskiy filed a petition to replace the unserved part of the punishment with a fine, but instead received an unjustified penalty.\nWhile in the colony, Aleksey worked for a long time on a grueling schedule — 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, he worked in the sewing industry. Despite stress, hard work and difficult living conditions, he took an active part in various sports and cultural events, in particular in table tennis and football tournaments.\nAccording to the believer's lawyer, Aleksey behaved in an exemplary manner in the colony and was on good terms with other prisoners. Even before the verdict, the believer declared to the court: “My surname 'Miretskiy' contains the word 'peace'. I live on Mir Street. Peacefulness is an integral part of my personality ... At work, I have always tried to reconcile the warring parties and find compromises between the parties to various conflicts. My name is Miretskiy, and I am not an extremist. \"\n“By his behavior, Aleksey proved the truthfulness of the words spoken in court that he is in fact alien to criminal intentions and deeds. Because of the biased interpretation of the law on extremism, people are deprived of their freedom for years, but they are not deprived of either human dignity, or faith, or, with all this, Christian respect for state power. Aleksey went to prison as a respectable citizen and got out of it the same way,”said Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.\nIn May 2021, the court sentenced another Saratov believer, Rustam Seidkuliyev, to 2.5 years in prison for talking about the Bible. The believer is awaiting an appeal.\nIn March 2020, 33 states issued a joint statement urging the Russian authorities to stop bullying Jehovah's Witnesses. The Memorial Human Rights Center considers Jehovah's Witnesses political prisoners and demands an end to the persecution associated with their religious affiliation.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-08-04T15:36:59+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/08/041536/image_hu_cbb8d31658c4793f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/08/041536/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/08/041536/image_hu_28d31c6e0ab51aeb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/08/041536/image_hu_9bf3c69e5aa49cf1.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/08/041536.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","life-in-prison","siloviks-violence"],"title":"One of Jehovah's Witnesses Aleksey Miretskiy, Convicted of Faith, Is Released From Penal Colony in Orenburg","type":"news"},{"body":"On July 29, 2021, Gennadiy German and Roman Gridasov, having served their sentences in full, were released. At the entrance to the Orenburg colony No. 1, they were welcomed by their friends and loved ones who had arrived from Saratov 800 kilometers away. Thus, five out of six Saratov believers have been released from prison.\nGennadiy and Roman ended up behind bars as a result of an unfair accusation of extremism. On September 19, 2019, the Lenin District Court of Saratov sentenced them to 2 years in prison, despite the fact that the prosecutor requested 6 years. The believers spent a year and 10 months behind bars.\nUpon arrival of Roman and Gennadшy at the colony, the staff of the institution kicked and beat them with truncheons which resulted in the worsening of their chronic diseases. Gridasov's wife related: \"The husband has noticeably lost weight, there is a strong internal tension, but he is holding on.\" Nevertheless, Gennadiy and Roman managed to support their families emotionally and maintain good relations with other prisoners.\nThe believers were repeatedly sent to punishment cells on ridiculous false accusations, for example, “smoking in the wrong place” (Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke for religious reasons). The prison authorities imposed unreasonable penalties on them, for example, for an unmade bed. “Violations in the colony are very easy to find. And if the administration wants, they will quickly organize them,” said the wife of Aleksey Budenchuk, who has already been released from this colony after serving his sentence. After the believers filed a petition to replace their unserved part of the sentence with a fine, Gennadiy was reprimanded for allegedly not greeting the colony staff. Later, German and Gridasov were transferred to a detachment with more difficult conditions of detention.\nIn the colony, the believers worked in the sewing industry. Roman also mastered the profession of a cook. Gennadiy worked for a month and a half in the packing department. Due to the lack of air and light at the workplace, his health deteriorated. Both prisoners suffered from viral diseases. Their lawyer said: \"The believers are forced to work from morning to evening ... Conditions in the colony are bad ... The clothes are of poor quality... In the summer it is very difficult to get permission to take off their thick clothes ... Their state of health has deteriorated, they have lost weight.\" Due to faulty payphones, German and Gridasov were limited in communication with their wives, but they were supported by letters from fellow believers from different countries. Friends from Orenburg often paid for food for them.\nThe EU countries express their concern over the situation around Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, declaring: “All people, including Jehovah's Witnesses, should be able to peacefully enjoy their human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief ... without discrimination, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Russia's commitments with OSCE and international commitments.\"\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-07-30T17:12:05+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/07/301712/image_hu_5a748f20dec74428.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/07/301712/image_hu_c9ddf0ab7bae68ad.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/07/301712/image_hu_99a00eef5120fe34.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/07/301712/image_hu_a8588b17c8b4408d.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/07/301712.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","siloviks-violence","life-in-prison","shizo","strict-conditions"],"title":"Jehovah's Witnesses from Saratov Gennadiy German and Roman Gridasov Released","type":"news"},{"body":"Investigator Nikolay Astapov decides to release Valery Minsafin from custody due to the lack of grounds for further restriction of his freedom.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Isakov and Minsafin in Kurgan","date":"2021-07-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kurgan2/index.html#20210716","regions":["kurgan"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"Investigator Nikolay Astapov decides to release Valeriy Minsafin from custody due to the lack of grounds for further restriction of his freedom.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Minsafin in Kurgan","date":"2021-07-16T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/kurgan6/index.html#20210716","regions":["kurgan"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On July 6, 2021, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, convicted for his beliefs, Aleksey Budenchuk, having served his full sentence, left penal colony No. 1 in the city of Orenburg. His family and friends traveled 800 kilometers to meet beloved husband, father and friend.\nOn September 19, 2019, a judge of the Leninsky District Court of Saratov sentenced Aleksey Budenchuk and five other believers to imprisonment for a term of 2.5 to 3.5 years for peaceful religious services. The Court of Appeal upheld the decision. During the criminal prosecution, the believer spent more than 11 months in a pre-trial detention center, 4 months under the ban on certain actions, and 17 months in a colony. Upon arrival at the colony, Aleksey and other believers were beaten. Then he was sent to a punishment cell on false charges of smoking in the wrong place. However, Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke for religious reasons.\nIn the colony, the believer had to work in a sewing workshop, despite problems with the spine, in which hours of sitting and standing are contraindicated. Because of stress and hard living conditions, Aleksey's chronic diseases worsened. At the end of 2020, the believer fell ill with presumably COVID-19. According to Tatyana, Aleksey's wife, the prison doctors did not even try to establish an accurate diagnosis. Aleksey was treated with the medicines that were in the medical unit and at the hands of the prisoners. As a result, he developed a number of complications that did not go away until he was released from the colony. “Now his pulse for no apparent reason reaches 100 beats per minute, and blood pressure jumps to 170,” says Tatyana Budenchuk. On top of that, about six months ago, the Bible was taken away from Alexey.\nDuring the last months in the colony, Aleksey received the specialty of an electrician and was awarded a diploma for success in his studies.\nAs Tatiana said, during the entire time of Alexey's imprisonment in the colony, they meet only three times and it was short-term. The last time was in September 2020. For a long time, two schoolchildren actually lost their father, and his wife, with which Aleksey has been married for 17 years, of support.\nThe Budenchuk family has a household and a small private house, which completely burned down shortly before the transfer of the believer to the colony. Tatyana and her children were not hurt. Friends and fellow believers helped build a new modest home for the family. The searches and the subsequent criminal prosecution of Aleksey Budenchuk had such an impact on the health of Aleksey's children that his son even needed medical attention.\nAccording to Tatyana, in recent years, the family has also felt support from those who do not share their religious beliefs. She says: “People are mostly sympathetic and do not understand the reasons for the prosecution. Words of support were expressed by teachers at school and classmates of children. Even some representatives of local authorities actively helped to obtain various characteristics and other papers for Aleksey. \"\nAleksey Budenchuk became the third Jehovah's Witness from Saratov to fully serve his sentence under an “extremist” article after the decision of the Supreme Court in April 2017. Three more defendants in the same criminal case are still in the colony and await release. In November 2018, lawyers for prisoners of conscience in Saratov filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights. The European Union demanded that the Russian authorities stop bullying Jehovah's Witnesses, mentioning six Saratov residents.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-07-06T14:01:13+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/07/061401/image_hu_3d52f72c4b15ecc6.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/07/061401/image_hu_6b9afdab337ccd9.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/07/061401/image_hu_5f95f9600f752dcb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/07/061401/image_hu_183ea88891968b69.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/07/061401.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Aleksey Budenchuk Released From Prison. He Is the Third Resident of Saratov to Serve a Sentence for Believing in God Jehovah","type":"news"},{"body":"Artyom Bagratyan is released from the pre-trial detention center. He served his sentence.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Andreyev and Others in Kursk","date":"2021-06-15T18:45:29+03:00","permalink":"/en/cases/kursk/index.html#20210615","regions":["kursk"],"tags":["sizo","release"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On June 15, 2021, Artyom Bagratyan left the pre-trial detention center and was released. About two weeks earlier, the Industrial District Court of Kursk sentenced the the believer to 2.5 years in prison, but Artyom had already served this term while in custody.\nThe years spent in the pre-trial detention center were a test for Artem: he suffers from serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Every day his blood pressure rose, and his blood sugar level reached 26 units, and he had severe headaches. Being kept in a cold cell with non-closing windows led to a severe cold. In this state, Artem had to repeatedly go to court hearings.\nIn addition, the courts of the Kursk region do not provide food for the defendants. During lengthy court hearings, Artyom's health deteriorated sharply due to irregular nutrition, so that he had to seek emergency medical help. Nevertheless, judge Oksana Ivanova unreasonably extended the term of the believer's detention in the conditions of the pre-trial detention center that were contraindicated for him. Due to his illness, Artyom needed a special diet, but the only thing that was available to him was buckwheat and kefir in the store of the detention center.\nArtem and his lawyer filed at least 15 petitions and appeals to various authorities: human rights organizations, Rospotrebnadzor, the Investigative Committee, the prosecutor's office - with a request to provide qualified medical care. Only after that the believer was placed for treatment in a medical unit.\nOne day he discovered that the funds from his account were gone, and the parcels from his relatives came opened. The administration deliberately did not give Artyom the Bibles that his friends sent. The believer repeatedly asked the head of the pre-trial detention center to provide him with the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Holy Scriptures, but the requests remained unanswered. Letters from all over the world, of which more than 1000 came, became a great support for Artem.\nAll the time he was in custody, Artyom could not communicate with his wife, Alevtina, who was prosecuted in the same criminal case as her husband, but received 2 years in prison. She is still under house arrest. Artyom saw Alevtina only during the trials, when they were placed in the same cage. After the release, the Bagratyan family was reunited.\nThe unfounded accusations of extremism by Russian Jehovah's Witnesses separate loved ones, ruining their fates. Whole families go to jail. Russian human rights activists and the international community demand an end to religious repression in Russia. The unfounded accusations of extremism by Russian Jehovah's Witnesses separate loved ones, ruining their fates. Whole families go to jail. Russian human rights activists and the international community demand an end to to religious repression in Russia.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-06-15T08:39:01+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/06/160838/image_hu_e0ff9bba6cf6937f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/06/160838/image_hu_a5432ca6f5189218.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/06/160838/image_hu_4303d1d5fd62159f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/06/160838/image_hu_7c002dc13b116c55.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/06/160838.html","regions":["kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","families"],"title":"One of Convicted Jehovah's Witness, Artyom Bagratyan, Was Released After Serving His Entire Sentence for Faith","type":"news"},{"body":"One of Jehovah's Witnesses Konstantin Bazhenov, who was again detained and sent to a deportation center after his release from the colony, was expelled from Russia, of which he had been a citizen for more than 10 years. On May 19, 2021, the believer arrived in Ukrainian Kramatorsk, where he was met by his wife, Irina, and fellow believers.\n“The fact that I was released on parole is a miracle! Although I had the right to parole: I had exemplary behavior and a lot of incentives, there were no penalties ... And yet, until the last moment, there were doubts until I read the court order on release, ”said Konstantin Bazhenov.\nKonstantin was born in Veliky Novgorod and, as a child, left for the Ukrainian SSR with his parents. In 2009, he and his wife, Irina, moved to Russia and received citizenship. Before the start of the criminal prosecution, the family lived in Saratov.\nIn September 2019, the court sentenced six believers, including Konstantin Bazhenov, to imprisonment, considering peaceful discussions of Christian teachings to be extremism. The Saratov Regional Court dismissed the appeal, and Konstantin received 3.5 years in prison. During the served term, the court included 15 months that the believer spent in a pre-trial detention center, and 4 months under the ban on certain actions. For another 15 months, Konstantin Bazhenov was serving his sentence in the colony of Dimitrovgrad. During his imprisonment, the authorities revoked the Russian citizenship of the believer.\nAccording to Konstantin, he had to deal with prejudice on religious grounds in the colony, but this did not happen for long. \"After [the administration and other prisoners] looked at my behavior, and when I explained my beliefs, their opinion changed. And even if they did not take my side, I still felt respect, \"said the believer.\nKonstantin Bazhenov and his wife, Irina. Ukraine, May 19, 2021 De jure, the sentence imposed on Konstantin Bazhenov expired on July 5, 2021, but in April 2021, the court released him on parole. On May 5, Konstantin was again detained right at the exit from the colony, after which he was taken to the local deportation center. Almost two weeks later, the believer was put in a car and sent to Ukraine.\nTogether with Konstantin, his wife, Irina, was forced to leave Russia. There were never any complaints from the law enforcement agencies against her, but further separation from her husband turned out to be unthinkable for her. Even during the imprisonment of Constantine in the colony, Irina moved to another city to be closer to her husband.\n“When Kostya was in the colony, we were not given visits for 13 months. For the first time since our imprisonment, we met only in February 2021. Sometimes we were able to communicate on the phone. We prayed and sang songs together, ”said Irina Bazhenova, who left Russia a few days earlier than her husband.\nSo far, the spouses do not know how their life will be built in a new place. They are glad that they will be able to freely profess their beliefs, but they worry about their fellow believers, who are still subjected to religious persecution in Russia.\nKonstantin Bazhenov became the second Jehovah's Witness to serve a sentence for his faith and was deported from the country. In January, his fellow believer, a resident of Saratov, Felix Makhammadiev, was expelled from Russia to Uzbekistan. Four more defendants in the case of Bazhenov and others are still in the colony and await release in June and August 2021. In November 2018, the unfounded criminal prosecution of believers was appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.\n","category":"discrimination","date":"2021-05-19T09:35:12+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/05/200935/image_hu_e18025d9ad3deba.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/05/200935/image_hu_ae4b9023bea1263d.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/05/200935/image_hu_76cbda774d8c337d.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/05/200935/image_hu_ce4fd607e30af7f0.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/05/200935.html","regions":["saratov","ulyanovsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","citizenship-deprivation"],"title":"Konstantin Bazhenov, Who Had Served His Sentence for Faith, Deported From Russia to Ukraine","type":"news"},{"body":"On January 21, 2021, Feliks Makhammadiyev, having fully served his 3-year prison sentence for his faith, having lost his Russian citizenship due to criminal prosecution, was released in the country of his birth. His wife, Yevgenia, a Russian citizen, left the country after him.\nFelix Makhammadiev was severely beaten by guards in Penal Colony No. 1 in the Orenburg region, with a broken rib and punctured lung, and ended up in hospital. On December 31, 2020, after his release from the colony, Feliks Makhammadiyev was placed behind barbed wire in a migration center. On the night of January 20, Interior Ministry officials put him on a train to Tashkent, and 20 hours later he was reunited with his wife.\nFollowing the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, Feliks Makhammadiyev became the first member of that religion to serve a full court-ordered sentence in a penal colony for his faith. He was also the first prisoner of conscience to have his citizenship revoked effectively on the basis of his religious affiliation.\nFelix has lived in Russia since 2002, when he arrived as a teenager with his mother from Uzbekistan. Here he led a law-abiding life - obtained citizenship, worked as a hairdresser, and created a family. However, in the summer of 2018, a criminal case was opened against him and five other believers from Saratov on charges of organizing extremist activity. The only culpability of the believers was peaceful religious meetings, where they read the Bible and discussed Christian teachings. All five were found guilty, Felix was sentenced to 3 years in a minimum-security penal colony.\n\"I cherish a clear conscience before God and my neighbors ... I have never questioned the correctness of the norms of right and wrong set forth in secular laws,\" Feliks Makhammadiyev told the court shortly before his sentencing. \"In my heart I experience dignity for the humiliation through which we still go, without making me, my family or my friends bitter to society.\nIn a colony hundreds of miles from home, the believer endured brutal beatings, unjust treatment, and grueling labor. As his wife, Eugenia, said shortly before Felix's release, he endured it all with an inherent smile: \"I am very proud of him! Not only did he survive the trial with dignity, but he continues to endure the hardships with dignity.\"\n","category":"sentence","date":"2021-01-22T09:31:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/01/4/image_hu_74733d0df65a59da.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/01/4/image_hu_9d67ee1d3c41c2e.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/01/4/image_hu_b300afd9ba2e9496.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/01/4/image_hu_6f88b1b235bf8792.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/01/4.html","regions":["orenburg","saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","deportation","citizenship-deprivation"],"title":"Feliks Makhammadiyev has been released. He was deported from Russia, and reconnected with his wife at the central railway station in Tashkent","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 31, 2020, a 36-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Saratov left Penal Colony No. 1 in Orenburg. He was transferred to a deportation center because after his sentence, his Russian citizenship was revoked and he is subject to return to his country of birth. This happened because he was convicted under an \"extremist\" article for his faith.\nAfter his release from the colony, Feliks Makhammadiev is still behind barbed wire—in the Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Nationals and Stateless Persons, located in the village of Alabaytal (Orenburg Region). The term of his stay here will be determined by the Belyaevskiy District Court, the hearing is scheduled for January 4, 2021.\nThe believer did not commit any crime. In Mahammadiev's case, studying the Bible and praying to Jehovah God were wrongly interpreted by investigators and courts as organizing the activities of a banned organization (Part 1, Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). He was sentenced to three years in prison. Taking into account the time spent in the detention center, his prison term ended on December 31, 2020. On his admission to the colony, he was severely beaten by guards and emergency hospitalized due to a broken rib and damaged lung.\nDetention center for illegal migrants in the village of Alabaytal, Orenburg region Feliks Makhammadiev moved to Saratov when he was 17 and later obtained Russian citizenship. He started a family with Russian citizen Yevgenia Lagunova and worked as a hairdresser. Some time after the sentence came into force, Makhammadiev learned that the Russian Federation had terminated his passport.\nMakhammadiev has a number of illnesses related to intolerance to certain types of food. The violation of his diet negatively affects his health, leading to exhaustion of his body. The rules of the deportation facilities establish that dietary meals are not provided there. The center itself is under quarantine.\nTogether with Makhammadiev, several of his fellow believers from Saratov were sentenced to prison: Konstantin Bazhenov, Aleksey Budenchuk, Gennady German, Roman Gridasov, and Aleksey Miretskiy. Their prison terms expire in 2021. Courts refused all of them in applications for mitigation of punishment and replacement of the remaining sentence with a fine. Apart from them, four other believers are currently serving their sentences in various colonies.\nThe vague wording of Russian legislation on extremism has been the subject of criticism by legal scholars and human rights activists both in Russia and abroad. According to experts, the term “extremism” is inapplicable to the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses, and their persecution must be stopped immediately.\n","category":"sentence","date":"2020-12-31T18:09:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/12/12/image_hu_f3b2fe582995386c.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/12/12/image_hu_e62da639bf1f1e53.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/12/12/image_hu_2c2f40e4a4df12eb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/12/12/image_hu_3d42767a5dafaaa0.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/12/12.html","regions":["orenburg","saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","deportation","health-risk","citizenship-deprivation"],"title":"A first individual who served time in prison and was deprived of his citizenship for his faith. Feliks Makhammadiyev left the correctional facility but has not attained freedom","type":"news"},{"body":"After serving his full sentence, Felix Makhammadiev leaves penal colony No. 1 in Orenburg. He is placed in the Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons, located in the village of Alabaytal (Orenburg Region), because after the verdict his Russian citizenship was revoked and he is subject to return to his country of birth. This happened due to the fact that for his faith he was found guilty under an \"extremist\" article.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-31T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201231","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["life-in-prison","release","deportation","citizenship-deprivation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"After serving his full sentence, Feliks Makhammadiev leaves penal colony No. 1 in Orenburg. Friends sewed him a purple heart from fabric as a gift.\nFelix is placed in the Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons, located in the village of Alabaytal (Orenburg Region), because after the verdict his Russian citizenship was revoked, and he is subject to return to his country of birth. This happened due to the fact that for his faith he was found guilty under an \"extremist\" article.\n","caseTitle":"Case of Bazhenov and Others in Saratov","date":"2020-12-31T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/saratov/index.html#20201231","regions":["saratov"],"tags":["release","deportation","citizenship-deprivation"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On June 26, 2020, the Kursk Prosecutor for the Oversight of Correctional Services appealed the court decision on mitigation of punishment to Dennis Christensen. On the same day, the colony staff illegally placed him for 10 days in a special detention facility designed for malicious violators of prison rules.\nThe defence challenges both the appeal submission by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the decision to place the believer in a unified cell-type room. However, all this means that Dennis Christensen will not be able to leave the colony for many more weeks.\nOn June 23, 2020, the Lgov District Court of the Kursk region ruled to soften Kristensen's sentence by replacing the unpaid part of the sentence with a fine of 400,000 rubles. Remarkably, that during the trial, the prosecutor supported the believer's petition to replace the prison sentence with a monetary fine.\n","category":"prison","date":"2020-07-01T13:22:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_8e65ea830d23305d.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2.jpg","webp":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_bd25408061f40e20.webp","webp2x":"/news/common/referee%27s%20hammer2_hu_1dd92405d6c2c02a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/07/1.html","regions":["oryol","kursk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release","shizo"],"title":"Dennis Christensen's release from the colony postponed: the prosecutor's office appealed against the decision, the believer thrown into the special isolation ward","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 3, 2019, the judge of the Kirov Regional Court, Alexander Moseev, granted the appeal of Andrzej Oniszczuk to extend his detention. After almost a year behind bars and a ban on communicating with his wife, the believer is finally free, but on his own recognizance.\nPolish citizen Andrzej Oniszczuk was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in the Kirov region as a result of mass searches in the homes of believers on October 9, 2018. Then five Kirov residents were arrested, whom the investigation accused of \"singing biblical songs together, improving the skills of missionary activity, studying religious literature, the so-called \"Holy Scripture\" (Bible).\"\nLater, the court softened the measure of restraint for everyone except Oniszczuk, while Andrzej continued to remain under arrest. During the 11 months of his stay in the pre-trial detention center, he was forbidden to communicate with his wife Anna, even by phone, under the pretext that she was a witness in the case.\nMeanwhile, the investigation of the case against Andrzej Oniszczuk continues, for believing in God and reading the Bible with friends, he faces up to 10 years in prison under \"extremist\" articles 282.2 (1) and 283.2 (1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. At the moment, 10 residents of the Kirov region are under investigation in connection with the practice of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Kirov law enforcement officers continue to interpret ordinary, peaceful religion as a serious crime.\n","category":"restriction","date":"2019-09-04T21:13:26+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2019/09/1123/oniszczuk_0_hu_e23983a230597c1a.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2019/09/1123/oniszczuk_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2019/09/1123/oniszczuk_0_hu_6e0133e2d4bf35eb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2019/09/1123/oniszczuk_0_hu_8b5bb0b2542d326.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2019/09/1123.html","regions":["kirov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["release"],"title":"Andrzej Oniszczuk was released after 11 months in jail. There are no more Jehovah's Witnesses behind bars in Kirov ","type":"news"},{"body":"The Kamchatka Regional Court releases Konstantin Bazhenov from custody.\n","caseTitle":"The Case of the Bazhenovs and Others in Yelizovo","date":"2018-08-29T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/yelizovo/index.html#20180829","regions":["kamchatka"],"tags":["release"],"type":"timeline"}]