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On 29 July, the Birobidzhan District Court of the Jewish Autonomous Region sentenced 47-year-old Aleksandr Krushevsky and 73-year-old Anatoly Artamonov to five years’ suspended imprisonment each. This was reported by the “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Legal Situation in Russia” portal.
The men were also given one and a half years’ restriction of liberty. They were found guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 2, Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and involving others in it (Part 1.1, Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code). The charges were based on covert recordings of the believers’ conversations on biblical themes among friends.
In February 2024, law enforcement officers conducted a search at Artamonov’s home and at his relatives’ homes. According to investigators, he involved a young man from the village of Amurzhet—located about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Birobidzhan, a city in Russia’s Far East—in the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
This was already the second search at Artamonov’s home. In 2019, his daughter Larisa and grandson Yevgeny Egorov became defendants in criminal cases against Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Aleksandr Krushevsky has had a hearing disability since childhood. Due to the persecution, he was unable to get a new hearing aid. During interrogations, he was not provided with a sign language interpreter; at court hearings, he could not always understand the judge’s words.
During the investigation, Artamonov continued to work. However, due to restrictions, he could not receive his full salary.
“If they can bear it, so can I. I especially remember the example of Andrey Vlasov, a disabled man sentenced to seven years in prison. (…) I tried not to dwell on the negative attitudes of those around me—there is enough negativity as it is. Instead, I tried to help everyone maintain a good mood,” Artamonov said in his final statement.
- During the investigation, searches were also carried out at the homes of Artamonov and Krushevsky as part of proceedings against their fellow believer Oleg Postnikov. Since April, he has been held in a pre-trial detention centre.