RUSSIA: 47 Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to prison terms in 2022

Since 2017, Russian authorities have placed over 500 Witnesses on the federal list of extremists and terrorists (!)

By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers

HRWF (10.01.2023) – As of 31 December, 47 Jehovah’s Witnesses were sentenced to a prison term. The last one, Alexander Filatov, got a six-year sentence on 28 December a few hours after the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the United States had published a press release announcing a slightly lower figure.

Since 2017, Russian authorities have placed over 500 Witnesses on the federal list of extremists and terrorists. Russia is misemploying its anti-extremist legislation to ban, imprison, and at times, beat and torture Jehovah’s Witnesses. Jehovah’s Witnesses are peaceful, law-abiding citizens—anything but extremists—and thus have repeatedly condemned Russia for its unmistakable discrimination-based ban. Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world are eager to see their fellow believers in Russia released from prison.

December (12)

Alexander Nikolayevich FILATOV, 38 years (6 years)

Sergey Panteleymonovich AFANASIYEV, 58 years (6 years and 6 months)

Sergey KARDAKOV, 38 years (6 months and 4 months)

Anton Yurievich OLSHEVSKIY, 35 years (6 years and 3 months)

Adam Mihaylovich SVARICHEVSKY, 59 years (6 years and 3 months)

Sergey Nikolaevich YERMILOV, 55 years (6 years and 3 months)

Sergey SHULYARENKO, 38 years (7 years)

Valeriy KRIEGER, 55 years (7 years)

Alam ALIYEV, 59 years (6 years and 6 months)

Dmitriy ZAGULIN, 49 years (3 years and 6 months)

Aleksandr Viktorovich LITVINYUK, 62 years (6 years)

Aleksandr Fedorovich DUBOVENKO, 49 years (6 years)

November (3)

Viktor Vladimirovich ZIMOVSKIY, 53 years (6 years and 2 months)

Aleksandr Ivanovich SEREDKIN, 67 years (6 years)

Andrey Emikovich DANIELYAN, 53 years (6 years)

October (7)

Vladimir BUKIN, 50 years (6 years and 6 months)

Sergey Vitaliyevich YUFEROV, 47 years (6 years and 6 months)

Valeriy SLASHCHEV, 41 years (6 years and 6 months)

Mikhail Ivanovich BURKOV, 39 years (6 years and 2 months)

Vladimir Ivanovich MALADYKA, 59 years (6 years)

Vladimir Fedorovich SAKADA, 52 years (6 years)

Yevgeniy Sergeyevich ZHUKOV, 53 years (6 years)

September (6)

Aleksey Valeriyevich DYADKIN, 33 years (7 years)

Nikita Valeriyevich MOISEYEV, 32 years (7 years)

Vladimir Nikolayevich POPOV, 55 years (7 years)

Yevgeniy Viktorovich RAZUMOV, 43 years (7 years)

Oleg Grigoriyevich SHIDLOVSKIY, 53 years (6 1/2 years)

Aleksey Vladimirovich GORELIY, 42 years (6 1/2 years)

August (6)

Vladimir ATRYAKHIN, 35 years (6 years)

Georgiy NIKULIN, 59 years (4 years and 2 months)

Yelena NIKULINA, 54 years (4 years and 2 months)

Aleksandr SHEVCHUK, 33 years (2 years)

Aleksandr KOROLEV, 42 years (2 years)

Denis ANTONOV, 46 years (2 years)

June (4)

Vladimir ERMOLAEV, 34 years (6 ½ years)

Alexander PUTINTSEV, 48 years (6 ½ years)

Igor MAMALIMOV, 46 years (6 years)

Evgeniy Nikolaevich ZINICH, 56 years (6 years)

May (2)

Andrey VLASOV, 53 years old (7 years)

Lyudmila Ivanovna SHCHEKOLDINA, 46 years (4 years and 1 month)

March (2)

Tatyana Yuriyevna VELIZHANINA, 50 years (1 year and 5 months) Released

Vladimir Viktorovich DESHKO, 55 years (1 year and 4 months) Released

February (1)

Anatoliy GORBUNOV, 64 years old (6 years)

January (4)

Yevgeny KOROTUN, 52 years old (7 years + 2 years of restricted freedom)

Anna SAFRONOVA, 57 years old (6 years)

Andrei KOLESNICHENKO, 52 years old (4 years + 1 year of restricted freedom)

Maksim BELTIKOV, 42 years old (2 years)

Photo courtesy: Jehovah’s Witnesses