Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest January 01-15
15.01.2025 – Each given 6 years in a Penal Colony for “expressing gratitude” at religious meetings.
JW – The Gagarinskiy District Court sentenced Viktor Kudinov and Sergey Zhigalov to 6 years in a penal colony. This verdict was announced on January 14, 2025, by Judge Sergey Korotun. He deemed holding meetings for worship, permitted by law, extremism. More than 100 people came to the courthouse to support the believers.
According to the defense, Kudinov and Zhigalov were groundlessly regarded as criminals. The indictment states that the defendants participated “in organizing and conducting [meetings for worship], by scheduling tasks for other participants, calling on them to comment, as well as subsequently expressing gratitude for these comments.” Sergey Zhigalov, 53, refuted the charges in his final statement: “The video from the services is proof that I love my brothers and sisters in faith, worship God peacefully and fulfill his commandment ‘let us not forsake our meeting together…, but let us encourage one another” as written in the Bible.”
13.01.2025 – The court liquidated the Muslim community in Kotelniki
Sova – On January 11, 2025, it became known that the Moscow Regional Court satisfied the claim of the Ministry of Justice and liquidated the local religious organization of Muslims in Kotelniki near Moscow and excluded it from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
The premises of the prayer house, the closure of which has been demanded for several years by local residents and the “Russian Community”, is sealed.
A criminal case under Art. 173.1 of the Criminal Code (illegal formation (creation, reorganization) of a legal entity).
13.01.2025 – Crimean Tatar sentenced by Russia to 19 years for ‘religious dissidence’ hurled into punishment cell for prayer
khpg – While Russian murderers and other real criminals are given pardons, freedom and lavish payments to go and fight against Ukraine, Crimean Tatar and other Ukrainian political prisoners get thrown into punishment cells without any grounds and face constant harassment.
Muslim Aliev, a recognized political prisoner and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, has lodged a formal appeal against the most recent such attack. On 12 December 2024, Aliev was sentenced to 15 days in the horrific conditions of a Russian SHIZO [punishment cell] . The pretext for this was that he, fellow Crimean Tatar political prisoner Teymur Abdullayev and two other Muslims, had not interrupted their morning prayers when the head of the prison colony entered his cell.
09.01.2025 – The International Alliance for Religious Freedom is recognized as an undesirable organization
Sova – On December 29, 2024, the Prosecutor General’s Office recognized the activities of the international organization International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Established in 2020, the alliance fights discrimination and persecution on the basis of religion and unites 42 countries.
The Prosecutor General’s Office is confident that “in fact, the association is a platform serving the interests of the United States and its allies, participates in the implementation of measures to discredit the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian authorities, destabilize the socio-political situation in our country. Produces materials about alleged violations of freedom of religion in Russia to increase sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation”.
09.01.2025- “Halal” and “Samarkand” cafes burned down in Ramensky district
Sova – In the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, teenagers in masks on camera set fire to two cafes – “Halal” and “Samarkand”.
On January 7, 2025, in the Ramensky district of the Moscow region, two teenagers in masks set fire to two roadside cafes. They filmed their actions. The buildings were almost completely destroyed by fire.
At first, the teenagers broke the windows in the Halal and Samarkand cafes, and then threw Molotov cocktails into the buildings. The buildings caught fire, and the teenagers ran away. Both snack bars are located at the entrance to the village of Kuntsevo.
Nothing was reported about the victims.
09.01.2025 – A resident of Mordovia was sentenced to compulsory labor for cooperation with Falun Gong
Sova – On December 27, 2024, it became known that the Lyambirsky District Court of the Republic of Mordovia brought a resident of this district I. Maksinyaev is convicted of Falun Gong cooperation.
The court found him guilty under Part 3 of Art. 284.1 (organization of the activities of a foreign or international organization, in respect of which it was decided to recognize its activities as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation) and imposed a penalty of 400 hours of compulsory work.
09.01.2025 – Data on visitors to Christmas services in 2025
Sova – On January 7, 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the Nativity of Christ. We provide statistical data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Rosgvardia on the visit of festive services in different regions.
In Moscow, according to Vitaly Suchkov, Head of the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations, more than 1.5 million people attended the holiday services.
02.01.2025 – Statistics about the harsh repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2024
The European Times – As of December 16, 2024, since the beginning of the year, Russian security forces have conducted at least 96 searches in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses — 17 in Crimea being the highest number. The total number of raids since the ban in 2017 reached 2157.
During 2024, 41 persons were made defendants in new criminal cases, of which 19 went through various types of detention, 15 of them are still behind bars. Last year, criminal cases were initiated against 100 believers.