27.02.2025 – A Jehovah’s Witness from the village of Pavlovskaya was sentenced to imprisonment
Sova – On February 25, 2025, the Pavlovsky District Court of the Krasnodar Territory sentenced Jehovah’s Witness Alexander Davydenko. The court found him guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and four episodes of involvement in the activities of this organization (p. 1.1 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to four years and two months of imprisonment in a general regime colony. He was also sentenced to imprisonment for one year and eight months.
26.02.2025 – The case of a preacher from the Sverdlovsk region was submitted to the court
Sova – On February 14, 2025, the Central District Military Court registered a criminal case against Eduard Charov, a preacher from Krasnoufimsk. He is accused under Part 1 of Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (re-discrediting the exercise of their powers by Russian state bodies abroad) and Part 2 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public justification of terrorism on the Internet).
The criminal case against Charov became known in February 2024 – then he was accused only under Art. 205.2 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE. The court placed the preacher under house arrest. The reason for the case was an approving comment under the post with the news about the arson of the military registration and enlistment office – in the message Charov proposed to award the arsonist with the medal “For Courage”.
26.02.2025 – The sentence of twenty Jehovah’s Witnesses from Surgut has been approved
Sova – On February 21, 2025, the Court of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District approved the verdict in the case of twenty Jehovah’s Witnesses. On December 5, 2023, the Surgut City Court of the KhMAO sentenced the faithful to various suspended terms of imprisonment. Depending on the role of each of them, the defendants in the case were charged under Parts 1, 2 of Art. 282.2 (organization of the activities of an extremist organization or participation in it), Part 1 of Art. 282.3 Criminal Code (financing of extremist activities).
According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, the court imposed the following punishments on eighteen defendants:
7 years of suspended imprisonment – Sergei Loginov and Timofey Zhukov;
6 years and 10 months – Evgeny Kairyak…
24.02.2025 – Ten brothers in Russia sentenced
JW – On February 13, 2025, the Yoshkar-Ola City Court of the Republic of Mari El convicted and fined ten brothers. Brothers Igor Alekseyev, Ilya Buryi, Eduard Kapitonov, Ilya Kapitonov, Aleksey Kulikov, Sergey Kulikov, Sergey Naymushin, Denis Petrov, and Vladimir Usenko were each fined 600,000 rubles ($6,569 U.S.). Brother Yevgeniy Plotnikov was fined 500,000 rubles ($5,474 U.S.).
24.02.2025 – The prosecution asks to impose suspended sentences on Jehovah’s Witnesses from Kurilsk
Sova – On February 13, 2025, during the debate in the Yuzhno-Sakhalin City Court, the prosecutor asked to appoint Olga Kalinnikova and Larisa Potapova, followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses, five and a half years of suspended imprisonment, followed by one and a half years of restriction of liberty by Chch. 1.1 and 2 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (involvement of a person in the activities of an extremist organization and participation in one).
24.01.2025 – An action against the construction of a mosque in Verkhnyaya Kurya was held in Perm
Sova – On February 23, 2025, it became known that opponents of the construction of a mosque in the Perm microdistrict of Verkhnyaya Kurya held a protest action in early February: they installed snowmen on the construction site, dressed them in nikabs and attached offensive slogans to them.
Among the posters that the snowmen “held” were: “To the snow women on the nikab”, “I agree to the harem with the refrigerator”, “Give me a hot Muslim”, “I’ll cool the ardor of any migrant”, “White women for black guests”, etc.
A criminal case was opened against the organizer of the action Anna Pyanzina under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement to hatred). The local Center “E” is doing the case.
21.02.2025 – In Cherkessk, Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment
Sova – On February 20, 2025, the Cherkess City Court of Karachay-Cherkessia sentenced Jehovah’s Witness Evgeny Semenov under the Chch. 1, 1.1 and 2 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization, participation and inclination of persons in the activities of an extremist organization). He was sentenced to six years and three months in a general regime colony.
20.02.2025 – “I Have Jehovah With Me”
JW – On February 20, 2025, the Cherkessk City Court of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic convicted Brother Yevgeniy Semenov and sentenced him to six years and three months in prison. He remains in custody.
20.02.2025 – A Jehovah’s Witness from the Krasnoyarsk Territory was again sentenced to suspended imprisonment
Sova – Alexander Kabanov was again sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment. His case has been going on since 2019.
On February 18, 2025, the Zelenogorsk City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory considered the case of Jehovah’s Witness Alexander Kabanov for the second time. He was found guilty again under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) and sentenced him to two years of suspended imprisonment with a two-year probationary period. As an additional punishment, the court imposed a six-month restriction of liberty.
18.02.2025- The case of the pastor of the church of the HVE, who allowed anti-war statements in the sermon, is being investigated in the Moscow region
Sova – On October 18, 2024, law enforcement officers detained the pastor of the Holy Trinity Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith in Balashikha Nikolai Romanyuk. A criminal case was opened against him under Art. 280.4 of the Criminal Code (public calls for activities directed against state security). On October 20, the court placed him in a pre-trial detention center.
During the search, the pastor was hit on the head with a butt, although he did not resist. As a result, he was deaf in one ear. Later it became known that Romanyuk had a microstroke in the detention center.
17.02.2025 – The Altai Regional Court recalculated the sentence of Jehovah’s Witness from Barnaul
Sova – Believer Vitaly Manuylov was previously found guilty under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to forced labor.
On February 14, 2025, the Altai Regional Court partially satisfied the complaint of Jehovah’s Witness Vitaly Manuilov against the conviction, which was handed down to him by the Industrial District Court of Barnaul on November 19, 2024, senting him two years of forced labor under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) with subsequent restriction of liberty for six months. The regional court recalculated Manuylov’s remaining sentence and came to the conclusion that 10 months of forced labor should be considered served.