Photo source: Alexander Tarakanov / Lori Photobank

Photo source: Alexander Tarakanov / Lori Photobank

Photo source: Alexander Tarakanov / Lori Photobank

Criminal Investigation and Trial

In Surgut, a court released both Jehovah's Witnesses who remained in jail

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area

On April 11, 2019, at 00:01, Sergey Loginov and Yevgeny Fedin, who had been behind bars since February 15, were released from custody. Two days earlier, the Surgut City Court refused to extend the investigators' detention.

Sergey Loginov, 57, is one of 7 Surgut residents who reported torture in the building of the Investigative Committee. On the fact of the incident, complaint No. 10618/19 "Loginov and others v. Russia" was filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR continues to consider this complaint.

Update. The Surgut City Court imposed a ban on both believers to leave their homes at night, communicate with other defendants in the case, use mail, telephone and the Internet. This ban came into force after their release from the pre-trial detention center.

The Case of Loginov and Others in Surgut

Case History
In February 2019, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against 18 men and 1 woman from Surgut (among them was a man mistakenly taken for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses). Their homes were searched. During the interrogations, 7 believers were subjected to violence. Artur Severinchik was sent to the pre-trial detention center for 29 days, and Yevgeniy Fedin and Sergey Loginov—for 56. Timofey Zhukov was unlawfully placed in a psychiatric hospital for 14 days. Believers filed complaints about the use of torture with the Investigative Committee, the ECHR and the Commissioner for Human Rights, a press conference was held with the participation of human rights defenders, but none of the law enforcement officers was brought to justice. In October 2021, the materials of the case, which in 2020 was separated into a different proceeding, went to court. Two years later, the court sentenced all believers to a suspended term from 4 to 7 years. In February 2025, the court of appeal upheld this verdict. A few months later, Igor Petrov learned that he had been deprived of Russian citizenship. He challenged this, and in June 2026, the Court of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area reinstated his rights.
Timeline

Persons in case

Kim
Artem
Boronos
Vyacheslav
Burenesku
Vasily
Fedin
Evgeny
Fefilov
Victor
Gargalyk
Saveliy
Petrov
Igor
Kayryak
Evgeny
Kobotov
Igor
Logins
Sergey
Plekhov
Aleksey
Romashov
Paul
Rysikov
Leonid
Severinchik
Arthur
Shepel
Viola
Trifonov
Igor
Volosnikov
Sergey
Zhukov
Timofey

Criminal case

Region:
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area
Locality:
Surgut
Suspected of:
delivered talks, engaged in the public preaching activity with local Jehovah's Witnesses, conducted meetings with 'pioneers', 'elders', and 'ministerial servants', including aiming at organizing the activity of the 'elders' in the 'Vzletnoye Congregation'
Court case number:
42002007709000023
Initiated:
February 11, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the city of Surgut of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)
Court case number:
1-27/2023 (1-130/2022; 1-1348/2021)
Court:
Surgut City Court
Judge:
Dmitriy Lyupin
Case History
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