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Jehovah’s Witness Sergey Tolokonnikov was released on 27 June from Correctional Colony No. 4 in Vyazniki, Vladimir region to the east of Moscow. This was reported by the project “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal Situation in Russia.”
The believer had been in detention since October 2021.
The 52-year-old Tolokonnikov was sentenced to five years in a general-regime colony in July 2023. The court found him guilty of involvement in the activities of an “extremist” organisation (Part 1.1 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). The case was opened on the grounds of holding discussions on religious topics and commenting on passages from Biblical texts. On appeal, his sentence was made harsher, with his prison term increased by two months.
Tolokonnikov was convicted along with two other Moscow residents, Anatoly Marunov and Roman Mareyev. The latter has already been released. Marunov remains in a colony in Tambov region, a city in western Russia.
Sergey Tolokonnikov spent almost four years in detention: three years in pre-trial detention and nine months in the colony. On his release, his wife and friends were waiting for him outside the prison.
“My feelings are mixed… On the one hand, there is a sense of newness, and on the other, I knew I was about to come out. I knew God would help me,” he said.
A few months before his release, he learned that a criminal case had been opened against his wife, Maria Pankova. She is under a travel ban and is accused of participating in the activities of an “extremist” organisation (Part 2 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).
“I was very upset, I started praying to God for help straight away. As for myself, fine, but for Masha—and for anyone—I don’t want this. It’s a very serious trial, because I know what she might have to face,” Sergey Tolokonnikov commented on his wife’s criminal case.
The headline has been corrected due to an inaccurate statement of how long Tolokonnikov spent in detention