31.01.2025 – In the Orenburg region, the court liquidated the church of Evangelical Christians
Sova – On January 29, 2025, it became known that the Orenburg Regional Court satisfied the claim of the regional administration and liquidated the local religious organization “Christian Church of Evangelical Christians” (Church of the Living God) of Mednogorsk.
During the scheduled verification of documents, the Ministry of Justice found that “the charter of the organization does not meet the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, as it contains an indication of membership in a religious organization. There are no signs of a religious organization in the activities of the administrative defendant, since the documents confirming the relevant activities are not submitted for verification”.
The court liquidated the organization and excluded it from the unified state register of legal entities.
30.01.2025 – A case on the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses has been opened in North Ossetia
Sova – Inspections of the premises were held at three families of believers.
On January 23, 2025, in North Ossetia, investigative authorities conducted inspections of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Republican SU of the Investigative Committee of Russia reported that a criminal case had been initiated under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization) against a local resident.
According to the investigation, from June 2022 to January 2024, knowing about the ban of Jehovah’s Witnesses organizations, including the local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Vladikavkaz, the suspect organized meetings via the Internet and at these online meetings “propagated the ideas of a banned religious organization”.
29.01.2025 – Criminal case for faith has been initiated in Vladikavkaz.
JW – In the early morning of January 23, 2025, in Vladikavkaz and the village of Nogir (Republic of North Ossetia—Alania), representatives of the intelligence services inspected the homes of three families of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A criminal case has been initiated.
At about 6 a.m., 15 people arrived at the apartment of one of the believers. The senior investigator leading the inspection of the home explained that the reason was that the family belonged to the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Electronic equipment and a Bible were confiscated from the family. After interrogations, the believers were released.
25.01.2025 – Court sends Dmitriy Terebilov back to penal colony for practicing his religion
JW – On January 23, 2024 the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma issued a second guilty verdict against Dmitriy Terebilov – 5 years and 5 days in a penal colony with a strict regime. Judge Dmitriy Gorokhov deemed conversations about the Bible as involving other convicted persons in the activity of an extremist organization.
In the fall of 2021, the believer was sentenced to 3 years in a strict regime penal colony for practicing the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Terebilov served his sentence in full, but was not released — another criminal case was initiated against him under an article for extremism in the spring of 2023. The charge was based on the testimony of a cellmate who feigned an interest in the Bible, to the effect that the believer only answered the man’s questions about his religious beliefs.
25.01.2025 – Five Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to two years in jail in Algeria for sharing their faith
Bitter Winter – On December 2, 2024, the Tirzi Ouzou Court in Algeria has sentenced five Jehovah’s Witnesses to two years of imprisonment plus a fine of 100,000 Algerian dinars “for the offense of inciting a Muslim to change religion and the offense of undermining national unity.”
That the defendants spoke about religion with Muslims is probably true, although there is no direct evidence of that in the judgment, no evidence of conversion, and no witness who affirms it. The problem is that in Algeria, while speaking about religion is allowed, especially for Muslims, inciting people to change their religion is not allowed by the law. What makes a difference between speaking about religion and inciting to change one’s religion?
24.01.2025- Moscow continues targeting Christians in Russian-occupied territories
Christianity today – President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed on the campaign trail that he could end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office. He failed to deliver but on Wednesday issued on social media an ultimatum to Russian president Vladimir Putin: End the war or risk “Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions.”
Trump’s tough stance against the Kremlin doesn’t mean Ukraine is off the hook. The president’s administration hasn’t revealed which concessions it will request from Kyiv, and Putin will undoubtedly negotiate for sovereignty over territory he has occupied and illegally annexed.
24.01.2025 – Getting Alternative Civilian Service “a hellishly difficult task”
Forum 18 – Military officials deny many young men Alternative Civilian Service (ACS), rather than military service, despite their demonstrating their pacifist convictions. A Krasnoyarsk Region court fined Baptist conscientious objector Zakhar Asmalovsky three weeks’ average wages in November 2024. He is appealing against the conviction. German Strelkov, another Baptist, is on his fourth round of legal proceedings to try to realise his right to conscientious objection. “After the war began, the situation changed dramatically, and now it has become very difficult to obtain ACS,” Seventh-day Adventist Andrey Bondarenko told Forum 18.
21.01.2025 – Father of child with disability given suspended sentence for his faith
JW – On January 20, 2025, Galina Yevsegneyeva, judge of the Urupskiy District Court of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic, issued a verdict in the case of Aleksey Pasynkov: 6-year suspended sentence. The court considered reading the Bible with fellow believers to be extremist activity.
Aleksey does not agree with the decision and thinks that the court has not cited a single fact proving his guilt. He noted that the panel of experts did not find any signs of extremism in the material presented for their study. Witnesses for the prosecution are either not acquainted with the defendant or testify based on hearsay.
21.01.2025 – Searches, interrogations with use of force, and detentions
JW – On January 17, 2025, in the city of Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Region, five apartments of Jehovah’s Witnesses were searched. The raid was launched by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region, which initiated a criminal case against Anton Parfenov under Article 282.2(1) of the RF CrC. Four men were detained.
The searches began at about 5:30 a.m. and lasted between 2.5 and 4 hours. Demanding passwords for electronic devices, law enforcement officers beat two men. The security forces, some of them wearing masks and carrying automatic weapons, seized Bibles, phones and laptops, personal notes, and photographs. In some cases, they tried to persuade the believers not to use Article 51 of the RF Constitution, which gives the right not to testify against yourself or your relatives.
20.01.2025 – In Sakhalin, Jehovah’s Witnesses are asked to be sentenced to eight years in prison
Sova – On January 15, 2025, the debate of the parties in the case of Jehovah’s Witness Daler Tokhtayev began in the Poronai City Court of the Sakhalin Region. The state prosecutor asks to sentence him to eight years in prison. 1.1 and 2 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (involvement in and participation in the activities of an extremist organization).
Tokhtaev’s case was initiated on February 6, 2024. On April 3, Tokhtaev was searched, after which he was detained. The court placed the accused in a pre-trial detention center. According to the investigation, a resident of Poronaisk since February 2023, being on the territory of the Sakhalin region, held religious talks with local residents and “propagated extremist ideology”. Tokhtaev himself claims that the person he talked to was an FSB provocateur.
20.01.2025 – An Islamic school was closed in Simferopol by court decision
Sova – On December 20, 2024, it became known that a private house in which a Muslim educational institution operated was sealed in Simferopol by a court decision.
On December 9, the Central District Court of Simferopol suspended the operation of the building.
According to the Telegram channel “PE Feodosia (Crimea)”, the school was created by a Muslim organization that was not under the jurisdiction of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Crimea and “has connections with foreign ideologues”.The educational institution “used children to mislead their parents, in order to involve them in illegal actions and expand their influence in the community”.
16.01.2025 – A new criminal case has been opened against the Omsk pastor
Sova – At the end of December 2024, it became known that a case was initiated against the pastor of the New Creation Church in Omsk Stanislav Moskvitin under Part 3 of Art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of a foreign or international organization in respect of which a decision was made to recognize its activities as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation).