A Jehovah’s Witness from Krasnodar Krai, southern Russia, has been released from a penal colony after serving their sentence.

63-year-old Jehovah’s Witness Vladimir Skachidub was released from Correctional Colony No. 6 in Ryazan region on 5 September and returned home to Krasnodar Krai, in southern Russia near the Black Sea. This was reported by the website “Jehovah’s Witnesses. Legal Situation in Russia.”

On 11 October 2021, Skachidub was found guilty of involving people in the activities of an extremist organisation (Part 1.1 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and of participating in it (Part 2 Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and was sentenced to four years and two months in a general regime colony. He was taken into custody on the same day. Taking into account preferential counting of the time spent in pre-trial detention before the appeal, he has now served his full sentence.

The believer has a third degree disability due to a neurological condition; he suffered a heart attack, after which he had to undergo stenting.