Ten Jehovah’s Witnesses from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a city in Russia’s Far East, are facing real prison sentences.

During the debate in the Komsomolsk District Court in Khabarovsk Krai, the prosecutor requested sentences for ten Jehovah’s Witnesses. This was reported by the SOVA research centre.

Mikhail Dorofeyev, Nikolay Kovadnev and Radion Shitov face proposed sentences of seven years’ imprisonment each under the article for organising the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). Spouses Ulita and Sergey Sachnev, Irina Bondareva and her son Vasily, Marina Voitko, Ivan Nikitin and Svetlana Zharkova each face four years under the article for participating in such an organisation (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

A criminal case against the believers was initiated on 4 May 2023. On 25 May in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a city in Russia’s Far East, security forces conducted mass searches targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses. According to the investigation, the believers held religious meetings, talks and worship services, including online. All ten defendants were required to sign an undertaking to appear. The case reached the court in October 2024.