RUSSIA: Fourth post-prison Jehovah’s Witness deportation

Despite living half his life in Russia and marriage to a Russian citizen, 46-year-old Jehovah's Witness Rustam Seidkuliyev was deported to his native Turkmenistan in September after completing his jail term for exercising freedom of...

Nikolay Voishchev is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In October 2022, security forces broke into pensioner Nikolai Voishchev’s home. His house was searched, the man was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center for professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Nikolay was...

Russia, Cassation confirms a two years and six months sentence of a Jehovah’s Witness

HRWF (04.08.2023) – On 27 July 2023, the Fourth General Jurisdiction Court of Cassation upheld the sentence and appeal ruling against Aleksandr Nikolaev, a resident of Kholmskaya – 2 years and 6 months in prison....

In Rare Move, Russian Court Acquits Two Jehovah’s Witnesses Of Extremism Charges

In a rare move, a Russian court has acquitted two Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism charges. The website of the religious group that is monitoring developments in Russia said on August 7 that a court in...

RUSSIA: Judges “ignore completely” amended Supreme Court guidance on Extremism Law application

Hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses and dozens of Muslims who read theologian Said Nursi's works have been jailed or given suspended sentences on "extremism" charges. October 2021 Supreme Court revised guidance for extremism trials directed judges...

Astrakhan Region: prosecutor demands eight years in colony for three Jehovah’s Witnesses

Rinat Kiramov, Sergey Korolyov, and Sergey Kosyanenko, the Jehovah's Witnesses*, whose case is being considered by the Akhtubinsky District Court, are under threat of long freedom deprivation terms under the charges of extremism. The prosecutor...

Russians in Crimea convict 4 Jehovah’s Witnesses for participation in “extremist community”

The occupation court of Yalta in the annexed Crimea has sentenced four followers of the Church of Jehovah's Witnesses to various terms of imprisonment, accusing them of participating in the organisation and financing of an...

Dagestani Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to appeal against suspended sentences

Four Jehovah's Witnesses* who were sentenced to suspended sentences withdrew their appeals against the verdict, and it came into force, the Supreme Court of Dagestan reported. The " Caucasian Knot " has reported that in...
Valery and Natalya Kriger outside Birobidzhan District Court

RUSSIA: Two trials, nine long jail terms

Eight of nine Jehovah's Witnesses convicted on extremism-related charges in two trials in Russia's Far East in December 2022 received jail terms of 6 to 7 years. An Amur Region Prosecutor's Office official justified the...

Russians increasingly cracking down on Jehovah’s Witnesses; 115 in prison

Russia kept cracking down on Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2022, the group said, sentencing 45 members of the movement to prison, a 40% increase over the 32 sentenced in 2021. A total of 115 Witnesses are in...

4 Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to prison in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) — Officials of the Jehovah’s Witnesses say four Russian members of the religious denomination have been sentenced to prison terms ranging up to seven years. Russia banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and...

CRIMEA: Two “extremism” criminal trials, more raids, criminal investigations

Russian occupation forces have raided more Jehovah's Witness homes in occupied Crimea. Timed to coincide with the raids, investigators launched criminal cases on "extremism" charges against three Jehovah's Witnesses. One - Sergei Parfenovich – has...

CRIMEA: Three 6-year jail terms, with 7-year post-jail bans

On 6 October, a Sevastopol court in Russian-occupied Crimea jailed three Jehovah's Witnesses for six years each on "extremism" charges, followed by a seven-year ban on specific activities. Prosecutor Valery Yazev, who led the case...

Protect to Russian Orthodox Church is was the main reason used to “liquidate” the Jehovah’s Witnesses

After Russian anti-cultists accused the U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence of infiltrating criminal Satanist “cults” into Russia, and Putin himself described the West as dominated by Satanism, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov has been requested to ban Satanist groups as “extremists”...

RUSSIA: 200 people on criminal trial for exercising freedom of religion or belief

Nearly 200 Jehovah's Witnesses and 9 Muslims who study Said Nursi's writings are on criminal trial for exercising freedom of religion and belief. Since June, courts jailed 17 Jehovah's Witnesses for "organising" or "participating in"...

Seven Jehovah’s Witnesses Handed Prison Terms In Russia

Seven Jehovah's Witnesses have been handed prison terms on extremism charges in Russia's southwestern Rostov region amid an ongoing crackdown on the religious group that has been banned in Russia since 2017. [caption id="attachment_6439" align="aligncenter"...

U.S. Report Says Russia Among ‘Worst Violators’ Of Religious Freedom

An independent, bipartisan advisory body has reiterated its call for the U.S. State Department to add Russia to its register of the world's "worst violators" of religious freedom, a blacklist that already includes Iran, Pakistan,...