In a typical recent case, a court in Saransk, capital of the Republic of Mordoviya, handed two Jehovah's Witnesses long prison sentences on 19 September for exercising their freedom of religion or belief. It jailed 39-year-old Ivan Neverov for 7 years and 38-year-old Mikhail Shevchuk for 6 years and 6 months. The court convicted them on charges of "Organisation of the activities of a banned extremist organisation". Prosecutors had requested 9 years' imprisonment for Neverov, and 8 years for Shevchuk.

The Judge also handed the two men post-prison restrictions on freedom and bans on "activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public and religious organisations" (see below).

Investigators accused the two men of "convening meetings, organising religious speeches and services at these meetings, preaching and missionary activity in the city of Saransk, and distributing literature with extremist content" (see below).

A representative of Saransk's Proletarian District Court refused to answer Forum 18's questions as to why the Judge had handed down such long jail sentences and who had been harmed by Neverov and Shevchuk's actions. The court representative said only that answers "cannot be given, since, according to the norms of current procedural legislation, state civil servants of the court are not entitled to give explanations or comment on issued judicial decisions" (see below).

The Republic of Mordoviya's Prosecutor's Office did not respond to Forum 18's questions as to why prosecutors had sought such long jail sentences and why they considered Neverov and Shevchuk dangerous (see below).

Meanwhile, courts are known to have convicted at least four Jehovah's Witnesses in October. A court in Samara jailed 53-year-old fellow Jehovah's Witness Samvel Babayan on 17 October for 7 years on the same charges as Neverov and Shevchuk. In two criminal cases, courts handed down suspended sentences. In the fourth case, a court handed down a large fine (see below).

Raids on Jehovah's Witness homes have continued throughout 2025. These are usually led by the Investigative Committee or the Federal Security Service (FSB) – the agencies usually responsible for investigations of Jehovah's Witnesses for "continuing the activities of a banned extremist organisation". Such raids often involve armed troops of the National Guard (Rosgvardiya).

The FSB and Investigative Committee have carried out raids and searches of at least 37 households in five regions in September and October. In all, officials have launched raids and related prosecutions in 74 out of Russia's 83 federal subjects.

(Russian officials have launched similar raids and related prosecutions in Crimea and Sevastopol, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. They have also launched a criminal case against an individual in the occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk.)

The consequences of prosecution can go beyond imprisonment or restrictions. At least four Jehovah's Witnesses who became Russian citizens by naturalisation have had their citizenship revoked because of their criminal convictions. Three of them were subsequently expelled from Russia. Most recently, in June 2025, Interior Ministry officials in Magadan Region rescinded the citizenship of Irina Khvostova, who was born in Ukraine and moved to Russia in 2015. She has not had to leave the country because she is still serving the probation imposed with her suspended sentence (see below).

Jehovah's Witnesses with foreign citizenship, who have lived legally in Russia for decades, may be subject to deportation upon completion of their sentences. On 13 October 2025, when Armenian citizen Vardan Zakaryan was released from a prison colony in Tver Region, a police officer immediately took him to a deportation centre in preparation for his removal from the country (see below).

Courts have criminally convicted more than 600 living and dead Jehovah's Witnesses

Russia's Supreme Court declared the Jehovah's Witness Administrative Centre "extremist" and banned its activities in 2017. In the years since then, 845 people have faced prosecution for continuing to meet for prayer and Bible study.

Jehovah's Witnesses argue that the Supreme Court ruling did not outlaw their beliefs. They point to a February 2021 statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Humanitarian Cooperation and Rights, that the ruling "emphasised that when considering the case, it [Supreme Court] evaluated neither the legality of Jehovah's Witness religious beliefs, nor the means of expressing them, but only the specific illegal actions of this organisation [the Jehovah's Witness Administrative Centre and its subsidiaries]".

So far, 619 Jehovah's Witnesses have been convicted, mainly under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 and Part 2 for organising or leading "the activities of a banned extremist organisation" (three of them posthumously). Courts have handed 186 people prison terms, 320 suspended sentences, 99 fines, and 11 terms of assigned labour. Only one person has so far been acquitted and had this verdict enter and remain in force, while 25 have had the charges against them dropped.

Even before any trial, investigators usually have individuals added to the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) "List of Terrorists and Extremists". This brings many financial consequences including the freezing of bank accounts except in the case of small transactions.

Individuals with suspended sentences and those released from prison often must spend years under various restrictions and obligations.

The most recent criminal convictions of Jehovah's Witnesses include those of:

– Samvel Aykazovich Babayan (born 22 May 1972), sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 by Samara's Kirov District Court on 17 October 2025;

– Andrey Vladimirovich Sazonov (born 15 August 1980), who received a fine of 450,000 Roubles (four months' average local wage) on 17 October 2025 under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 and Article 282.3, Part 1, after two re-trials at Uray District Court in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug;

– Tatyana Vasilyevna Pasynkova (born 15 January 1965), who received a 4-year suspended sentence with 2 years' probation, plus 1 year's restrictions on freedom and a 1-year ban on "participation in the work of public and religious organisations"; Khabez District Court in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkesiya convicted her on 15 October 2025;

– Yelena Pavlovna Rumyantseva (born 21 May 1972), who received a 2-year suspended sentence with 2 years' probation, plus 6 months' restrictions on freedom; Vyselki District Court (Krasnodar Region) convicted her on 15 October 2025.

Muslims also prosecuted on extremism charges

Muslims who meet to study the writings of the late Turkish theologian Said Nursi are also prosecuted under the Extremism Law. They are accused of organising or participating in the activities of "Nurdzhular", which the Supreme Court banned as an "extremist" organisation in 2008. Muslims in Russia deny any such formal organisation ever existed. Such Muslims typically meet in homes to study Islam, with one or more expounding on Nursi's works. They also pray, eat, and drink tea together, and do not seek state permission to meet.

The most recent Nursi-related "extremism" trial was that of Zurab Magomedgabibovich Dzhabrailov (born 14 December 1978) and Dzheykhun Fikret ogly Rustamov (born 10 July 1970). On 10 July 2024, Moscow's Kuzminsky District Court sentenced Dzhabrailov to 6 years' imprisonment under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 ("Organisation of the activities of a banned extremist organisation"), and Rustamov to 2 years and 9 months' imprisonment under Part 2 ("Participating in the activities of a banned extremist organisation").

Moscow City Court upheld their convictions on 11 December 2024. On 11 September 2025, further appeals to the 2nd Cassational Court in Moscow were also unsuccessful, according to the court website.

Republic of Mordoviya: Two long prison terms

Ivan Yevgenyevich Neverov (born 6 April 1986) and Mikhail Stanislavovich Shevchuk (born 30 November 1986) received prison terms of 7 years and 6 years and 6 months respectively on 19 September 2025. Proletarian District Court in Saransk found them guilty under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 ("Organisation of the activities of a banned extremist organisation").

Judge Inna Balyasina also imposed periods of restrictions on freedom (14 months for Neverov, 13 months for Shevchuk) and bans on "activities related to leadership and participation in the work of public and religious organisations" (5 years for Neverov, 4 years for Shevchuk).

Investigators accused the two men of "convening meetings, organising religious speeches and services at these meetings, preaching and missionary activity in the city of Saransk, and distributing literature with extremist content", according to the indictment, cited by the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Prosecutors had requested 8 years' imprisonment for Shevchuk, and 9 years for Neverov.

Officials took the two men into custody from the courtroom. They have both lodged appeals against their convictions, according to the district court website. The appeals will be heard at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Mordoviya, but no hearings are yet listed.

Court proceedings were "fast-paced", according to the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, with four hearings taking place per week. This obstructed the defendants' ability to work (Neverov is a decorator, Shevchuk a furniture maker), but Judge Balyasina declined lawyers' requests to allow more time between hearings.

The prosecution case appears to have been based partly on covert recordings made in Neverov's home over a two-year period. "Someone's been eavesdropping on our entire personal life. It's very unpleasant", Neverov commented to the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty. "Every time we asked the prosecution, 'Where is the extremism, where is even one piece of evidence, even one word, one statement', the officers conducting the investigations said they had heard nothing of the sort", they told the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Clearly, the entire accusation is false."

During the investigation, Neverov and Shevchuk both spent 104 days in detention and 93 days under house arrest, before being released under specific restrictions. This time will count against their prison sentences, should the court verdict enter legal force.

Forum 18 wrote to Saransk's Proletarian District Court to ask:
- why Judge Balyasina had found the defendants guilty in the light of the amended Supreme Court sentencing guidelines issued in October 2021;
- why she had handed down such long jail sentences;
- and who had been harmed by the men's actions.
A court representative replied on 1 October, saying only that answers "cannot be given, since, according to the norms of current procedural legislation, state civil servants of the court are not entitled to give explanations or comment on issued judicial decisions".

Forum 18 also asked the Republic of Mordoviya's Prosecutor's Office on 26 September:
- why prosecutors had sought such long jail sentences;
- and why they considered Neverov and Shevchuk dangerous.
Forum 18 had received no response by the end of the working day in Saransk of 21 October.

Magadan Region: Fourth Jehovah's Witness loses citizenship

On 23 June, Magadan Region's branch of the Interior Ministry issued a decision rescinding the Russian citizenship of Jehovah's Witness Irina Vladimirovna Khvostova (born 15 March 1992 in Ukraine) and invalidating her Russian passport.

A video posted on the Interior Ministry's website (which is geoblocked for those outside Russia) shows the acting head of the Department of Citizenship Issues reading the decision out to Khvostova (whose face is blurred out) and confiscating the passport on 2 July.

Khvostova was "convicted of committing a crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security: she participated in the activities of a religious association which a court decided to ban due to extremist activity", the accompanying press release states. "The court gave her a suspended sentence with a probationary period of 2 years, in connection with which the woman was obliged to leave the territory of the Russian Federation autonomously."

With this, Khvostova became the fourth Jehovah's Witness to have her Russian citizenship revoked as a direct result of exercising her right to freedom of religion and belief.

Three Jehovah's Witnesses were expelled earlier:
- Rustam Seidkuliyev, expelled to Turkmenistan in September 2023;
- Konstantin Bazhenov, expelled to Ukraine in May 2021;
- and Feliks Makhammadiyev, expelled to Uzbekistan in January 2021.

Unlike the other three, however, Khvostova remains in Russia. She challenged the Interior Ministry's decision partially successfully. On 26 August, Judge Irina Netsvetayeva of Magadan City Court upheld the annulment of her citizenship, but overturned the order (issued on 4 July) for her to leave the country within three days or undergo deportation.

An Interior Ministry official stated in court that this order would not actually be enforced, given that Khvostova is still subject to the requirements of her probationary period (including a ban on leaving Magadan). The probationary period is due to end in October 2026. The official also stated in court that, by the time her probation is over, the period during which she is barred from entering Russia will also have ended (in March 2026).

Nevertheless, somewhat confusingly, the official still argued that the order should be upheld, as "the decision to deny entry to the Russian Federation on the grounds of an unexpunged or unspent criminal record .. constitutes a mandatory order requiring enforcement".

Judge Netsvetayeva concluded, however, that "the very fact of such a decision entails legal consequences [for Khvostova] provided for by law, including the subsequent imposition of measures for violation of immigration laws", "creates obstacles to her serving the sentence imposed by the court, as well as to compliance with prohibitions and restrictions", and "upsets the balance between the legitimate interests of the administrative plaintiff [Khvostova], whose rights and freedoms are limited by the contested decision, and the legitimate interests of other individuals, the state, and society".

The court took into account Khvostova's decade-long residence in Russia (during which she has been consistently employed, has paid taxes, and has accrued no other convictions), positive character references, high qualifications as a chemical engineer, ownership of land in Magadan, and the fact that all her close relatives are Russian citizens and resident in Russia.

Judge Netsvetayeva therefore decided that there is "no basis for concluding that I.V. Khvostova, in connection with the crime she committed, for which she has an outstanding conviction, poses a heightened public danger or a threat to the rights and legitimate interests of others or to the interests of law and order, which could necessitate a decision to deny her entry into the Russian Federation".

On 6 October, Khvostova and her lawyer lodged an appeal against the court's decision to uphold the annulment of her citizenship, according to the court website.

Khvostova was born in 1992 in Luhansk Region in eastern Ukraine. According to Magadan City Court's written decision, after studying in Odesa, she moved to Russia in March 2015 and was granted temporary asylum, followed by temporary residency in December of that year. She acquired Russian citizenship in May 2016 under a simplified procedure for people involved in the State Programme of Assistance to Compatriots Living Abroad in Voluntary Resettlement to the Russian Federation.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Khvostova in March 2019 under Article 282.2, Part 2 ("Participating in a banned extremist organisation"). She appeared alongside twelve fellow believers at Magadan City Court in one of the biggest trials of Jehovah's Witnesses for continuing to meet for worship after the 2017 nationwide ban.

On 6 March 2024, after nearly two years of court proceedings, the court handed all thirteen Jehovah's Witnesses suspended sentences. They unsuccessfully challenged the verdict at Magadan Regional Court on 15 October 2024, upon which their sentences entered legal force.

Khovstova received a 3-year suspended sentence with 2 years' probation, 10 months' restrictions on freedom, and a 3-year ban on "activities related to participation in the work of public religious organisations".

It is unclear whether Khvostova is now a stateless person. According to the written decision available on the city court's website, she submitted a renunciation of her Ukrainian citizenship upon receiving Russian citizenship, as required by Russian law, but received no acknowledgement of this from Ukrainian authorities. Her Ukrainian passport has long since expired.

Legal grounds for deprivation of citizenship

As well as the four Jehovah's Witnesses, Yevgeny Kim, a Muslim convicted on extremism charges for studying the works of the late Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, also lost his Russian citizenship and was ordered expelled from the country. He remained in limbo at an immigration detention centre for more than two years, however, after his birth country of Uzbekistan refused to accept him on the grounds that he had never held Uzbek citizenship.

Article 6 of the Russian Constitution states that a person cannot be stripped of his or her citizenship. Khvostova, Seidkuliyev, Bazhenov, Makhammadiyev, and Kim all lost their Russian citizenship on the basis of an amendment to Article 22 of the Citizenship Law which entered legal force on 1 September 2017.

Citizenship Law Article 22 states that the decision to admit a person to Russian citizenship can be annulled – ie. citizenship is revoked, as if it had never been granted – if it was awarded on the basis of forged documents or "false information".

Under the 2017 amendment, conviction under some articles of the Criminal Code is taken as equivalent to knowingly presenting false information in a citizenship application. Among the named Criminal Code Articles are 282.2 ("Organising" or "Participating in the activity of a social or religious association or other organisation in relation to which a court has adopted a decision legally in force on liquidation or ban on the activity in connection with the carrying out of extremist activity") and 282.3 ("Financing extremist activity").

These Criminal Code Articles are used to prosecute Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslim readers of Nursi's works. As a result, therefore, authorities may annul the citizenship of a person who has been found guilty of one of these offences, and who acquired Russian citizenship by naturalisation (rather than by birth).

Tver Region/Moscow: Jehovah's Witness taken for deportation on release

An Armenian citizen who has lived in Russia for nearly 35 years is due to be deported after serving his sentence for "Inclination, recruitment or other involvement of a person in an extremist organisation" (Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1.1).

Vardan Pegatosovich Zakaryan (born 12 June 1971 in Soviet Armenia) left Tver Region's Correctional Colony No. 4 in Torzhok on 13 October 2025. After giving him a few minutes to speak to friends and supporters, a police officer then took him by car to a deportation centre ahead of his removal from the country.

Zakaryan does not intend to challenge his deportation, Jehovah's Witness lawyers told Forum 18 on 16 October. It is unknown when the deportation will take place.

Babushkin District Court in Moscow convicted Zakaryan alongside four other Jehovah's Witnesses on 31 March 2023. The Judge sentenced him to 4 years and 3 months' imprisonment.

Zakaryan's fellow defendants – Ivan Chaykovsky, Yury Chernyshev, Vitaly Komarov, and Sergey Shatalov – were all charged under Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 1 ("Organisation of the activity of a social or religious association or other organisation in relation to which a court has adopted a decision legally in force on liquidation or ban on the activity in connection with the carrying out of extremist activity").

The Judge sentenced all four other defendants to prison sentences of 6 years and 3 months. They appealed unsuccessfully on 11 April 2024 at Moscow City Court.

Zakaryan spent 376 days in detention and 893 days under house arrest during the investigation and trial and before his conviction came into force. (His detention and house arrest counted against his prison term at a rate of one day in detention to a day and a half in prison, and two days under house arrest to one day in prison.)

On 15 October 2024, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) issued Zakaryan with a notice of the "undesirability" of his presence in Russia, according to court documents seen by Forum 18. This barred him from entering the country for 8 years after completing his sentence, until his sudimost (criminal record, state of being a convicted person) is expunged, and ordered his deportation after his release.

(The prison colony administration, apparently unaware of Zakaryan's impending deportation, lodged an administrative lawsuit at Torzhok Inter-District Court to have Zakaryan placed under 8 years' administrative supervision after his release. The judge refused this on 22 August 2025.)

Dennis Ole Christensen, a Danish citizen married to a Russian, was the first Jehovah's Witness to be imprisoned under Criminal Code Article 282.2. Officials also deported him from Russia after his release in May 2022.

When Investigative Committee, FSB security service, and National Guard operatives raided Zakaryan's Moscow home in November 2020, armed men struck him on the head with a rifle butt, knocking him down. He spent two days in hospital before being discharged at the insistence of investigators and interrogated overnight.

Despite his appeals to prosecutors and human rights officials, no state agency appears to have investigated Zakaryan's torture. (END)

More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia

For background information see Forum 18's Russia religious freedom survey

Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments

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