Moscow court sentences six Jehovah's Witnesses members to prison and forced labor
Quick Look
- A Moscow court sentenced six Jehovah's Witnesses members to prison and forced labor for participating in an extremist organization, with two receiving five-year prison terms and four receiving forced labor sentences ranging from three years and eight months to four years.
- The verdict is not yet legally binding and can be appealed.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Jehovah's Witnesses was banned in Russia after being recognized as an extremist organization. Since December 2024, over 30 members have been involved in criminal cases in Moscow and the Moscow Region under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code, with nine currently serving time in correctional colonies.
MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. A Moscow court has sentenced six members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, which is banned after being recognized as an extremist organization in Russia, sending two of them to a penal colony and four to forced labor, according to one of the participants of the trial.
"On August 26, 2026, the Simonovsky District Court of Moscow handed down a sentence to six local defendants: Zaur Murtuzov and Darya Petrochenko were sentenced to five years in prison, Liliana Korol, Larisa Kislaya, and Oksana Ivanova were sentenced to four years of forced labor, and Tatyana Levitskaya was sentenced to three years and eight months of forced labor. The defendants were found guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization and recruiting members into it (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code),"; the participant told TASS.
According to him, the verdict has not entered into legal force and can be appealed at the appellate level. All the convicted were put on the list of extremists.
In December 2024, the Investigative Committee and the FSB, with the support of the National Guard and SOBR, conducted searches in Moscow and Lyubertsy near Moscow. Prior to being held criminally liable, 49-year-old Murtuzov, a graduate of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, worked in warehouse logistics; 34-year-old Darya Petrochenko, a lawyer and translator, was the chief specialist at the representative office of Ingushetia under the President of Russia in Moscow; 50-year-old Larisa Kislaya provided cleaning services; 56-year-old Oksana Ivanova is a pediatrician and psychologist; 48-year-old Liliana Korol is a cosmetologist; and 43-year-old Tatyana Levitskaya is a personal travel agent.
To date, more than 30 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization have been involved in criminal cases in Moscow and the Moscow Region for their participation and involvement in the activities of an extremist organization (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code), nine of them are serving time in correctional colonies.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The defendants will appeal the verdict at the appellate level
Very likely · Within weeks
Further legal actions against Jehovah's Witnesses members in Russia will continue
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will the defendants appeal the verdict?
- How will international human rights bodies respond to these sentences?
- Are further arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses members expected in Russia?
