Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest July 16-31
31.07.2025 – Another case of Jehovah’s Witness has been sent to the Shadrinsk court
Sova – On July 31, 2025, the SU IC of Russia in the Kurgan region reported that the case of the 45-year-old Jehovah’s Witness, accused under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization). Apparently, we are talking about Igor Suslov.
According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, the case against Suslov was initiated on June 23, 2025. The suspect himself came for interrogation from the Altai Territory to Kurgan. The investigator took a non-depart from him.
30.07.2025 – Old Catholic priest fined for anti-war sermons
Forum 18 – Fr Aleksandr Khmelyov, an Old Catholic priest, left Russia on 11 July after Telegram channels thought to be linked to state security services claimed investigators were preparing further administrative and criminal cases against him possibly for “creation of an extremist community” or “LGBT propaganda”. Earlier that day, a St Petersburg court fined him for “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces in a February 2022 sermon. A spokesperson for the St Petersburg court system ignored Forum 18’s questions about why Fr Aleksandr’s actions were considered “discreditation” of the Armed Forces.
30.07.2025 – Five years suspended for Bible discussions
JW – Five years suspended with restriction of freedom for 1.5 years — Judge Natalia Shibanova sentenced Aleksandr Krushevskiy, 47, and Anatoliy Artamonov, 73, to such term on July 29, 2025. She found the believers guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and involving others in it.
The first search at Krushevsky’s house – there were three of them in total – took place back in 2018. Artamonov’s family was persecuted in 2019: then his daughter, Larisa, and grandson, Yevgeniy Egorov, became the accused. In early 2024, the investigation brought charges against Krushevskiy and Artamonov, citing hidden videos of their conversations on biblical topics in a circle of friends.
30.07.2025 – Large fines imposed on eight of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Gryazi
JW – The Gryazi Town Court fined eight Jehovah’s Witnesses, including two elderly women aged 68 and 72, for talking about religion and participating in meetings for worship. The fines vary from 250 to 550 thousand rubles. The trial lasted almost two years and ended on July 28, 2025.
Valeriy Khmil, a father of three minors, recalls how four and a half years ago officers of the Investigative Committee and riot police broke into his house: “It was early in the morning. The children were scared, although the law enforcement officers tried to behave correctly.” His wife, Kira, faced pressure during the search. “One of the masked law enforcement officers said that if I don’t testify, my husband will be imprisoned for ten years.
30.07.2025 – Court refused to release seriously ill Anatoliy Marunov from colony, his family fear for his life
JW – On July 28, 2025, the Rasskazovskiy District Court of the Tambov Region refused to reduce the sentence of Anatoliy Marunov, one of Jehovah’s Witness, 71. “His illnesses make further stay in the colony unbearable due to constant physical suffering,” said Marunov’s lawyer. “There is a high probability that he will not survive the rest of his term.”
The formal reason for the refusal was an oral reprimand (the smallest possible disciplinary sanction in the colony), which the believer was issued 2 weeks after the lawyer applied to the court with a request to replace the punishment. According to the administration of the colony, Marunov incorrectly made an inventory of the contents of the duffel bag; At the same time, he was not told what exactly the discrepancy was. In court, the representative of the colony also could not answer what exactly Anatoliy indicated incorrectly.
28.07.2025 – The owner of a roadside cafe in the Novosibirsk region was fined for a forbidden book in a prayer room
Sova – On July 14, 2025, the Karasuk District Court of the Novosibirsk Region fined two thousand rubles under Art. 20.29 Administrative Code (storage of extremist materials for mass distribution) Nazaket Babaev.
It follows from the court order that on May 16, in Babaeva’s roadside cafe “U Nina”, the prosecutor’s office and the FSB border department checked the legislation on combating extremist activities and illegal migration. On the windowsill in the prayer room during the inspection they found the edition of Said ali bin Wahf al-Kahtani’s book “The Fortress of the Muslim”, included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials under number 2808.
25.07.2025 – In Moscow, a follower of “Falun Gong” Minenkov was sentenced to imprisonment
Sova – The court found her guilty under Part 3 of Art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code (the implementation of the activities of a foreign or international non-governmental organization, in respect of which a decision was made to recognize its activities as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation) and sentenced it to four years in prison, and also deprived her of the right to engage in public and political activities, including through the Internet, for seven years..
25.07.2025 – The case of Jehovah’s Witness from Sneznogorsk was referred to the court
Sova – On July 24, 2025, the Department of the Investigative Committee for the Murmansk region reported on the completion of the investigation and the transfer of the case against Jehovah’s Witness from Snezhnogorsk to court. He is accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization). The press release of the UK is about 67-year-old believer Anatoly Odintsov.
The criminal case was initiated on April 24, 2023. In June of the same year, it became known that Odintsov was put on the wanted list. After that, Jehovah’s Witness was placed in a pre-trial detention center. According to the investigation, a resident of Sneznogorsk in the period from August 2017 to July 2021 preached and held religious meetings, including via the Internet, distributed the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses and involved other residents of the region in the activities of the organization.
24.07.2025 – The books of the founder of “Falun Dafa” were included in the list of extremist materials
Sova – The decision to ban the books “Falun Dafa the essence of diligent improvement I-II” and “Falun Dafa the essence of diligent improvement III” was made by the Mezhdurechensky City Court of the Kemerovo region in June 2024. Earlier, in November 2022, the same court refused to recognize the publications as extremist.
On July 24, 2025, the Federal List of Extremist Materials was replenished with two new items, 5474 and 5475. Under these numbers, the list included two books “Falun Dafa. The essence of diligent improvement. I-II” and “Falun Dafa. The essence of diligent improvement. III” by Li Hongzhi. The decision to ban them was made by the Mezhdurechensky City Court of the Kemerovo Region on June 6, 2024, the appellate court approved it on November 13 of the same year, and the cassation court – on May 14, 2025.
15.07.2025 – The case of Jehovah’s Witnesses has been sent for a new consideration in Sakhalin
Sova – On July 10, 2025, the Sakhalin Regional Court overturned the sentence of Jehovah’s Witnesses Olga Kalinnikova and Larisa Potapova and sent the case to the court of first instance for a new consideration.
The believers were sentenced by the Yuzhno-Sakhalin City Court on March 24, 2025. Both were sentenced to two and a half years of suspended imprisonment and eight months of restriction of liberty. At the same time, the court found the defendants guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code), but not in involvement in its activities (p. 1.1 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code).
15.07.2025 – The leaders of the “Church of the Last Testament” were convicted
Sova – On June 30, 2025, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Novosibirsk handed down a guilty verdict in the case of the leaders of the Church of the Last Testament. Torop and Vedernikov got 12 years each, Redkin – 11.
The court found Sergei Torop (Vissarion), Vadim Redkin and Vladimir Vedernikov guilty under Part 1 of Art. 239 of the Criminal Code (creation of a non-profit organization that infringes on the personality and rights of citizens), paragraphs “a”, “b” of Part 3 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code (intentional infliction of serious harm to health), paragraph “d” of Part 2 of Art. 112 of the Criminal Code (intentional infliction of moderate harm to health). In addition, Vedernikov was found guilty under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud).
15.07.2025 – The State Prosecutor requested terms of up to nine years in prison for Jehovah’s Witnesses from Saransk
Sova – On July 11, 2025, in the Proletarian District Court of Saransk, in the debate of the parties in the case of Jehovah’s Witnesses Mikhail Shevchuk and Alexander Neverov, the state prosecutor asked to find them guilty and sentence them to eight and nine years in prison, respectively. Believers are accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).
