A Jehovah’s Witness from the Pskov region has been transferred to another prison colony.

A Jehovah’s Witness from Porkhov, Alexei Khabarov, who was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, has been transferred to Correctional Colony No. 9 in the settlement of Parfino, Novgorod region (north-western Russia). This was reported by the website “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal Situation in Russia.”

Previously, he had served his sentence in another colony in the same region—Penal Colony No. 4 in Valday (a town in the Novgorod region).

According to the “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal Situation in Russia” website, Khabarov was held in a punishment cell from 17 to 26 June.

In October 2023, a court sentenced Khabarov to two and a half years in a general regime colony, having found him guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). On appeal, the sentence was reduced by two months.

Khabarov was detained in 2019. His case was heard in court three times. In 2021, Khabarov was given a suspended sentence of three years, but on appeal the court sent the case back for a new trial. In 2022, at a new hearing, Khabarov was acquitted, but once again, the Pskov Regional Court overturned the decision and sent the case for review.