Aleksandr Akopov, Shamil Sultanov and Konstantin Samsonov were released from pre-trial detention center in Neftekumsk. They were put on electronic bracelets

On December 5, 2019, the judge of the Neftekumskiy District Court, Oleg Kuts, released the believers from custody in the courtroom. All three were assigned a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. They spent almost a year in the pre-trial detention center.

The mitigation of the measure of restraint was petitioned by the investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Stavropol Territory, A. Astakhov, who investigates the "criminal" religion of young people. According to him, now believers will not be able to interfere with the investigation, since most of the necessary investigative actions have been completed.

Now Akopov, Sultanov and Samsonov will be able to live at home and even work, but they will have to wear special sensors that record their movements. They are forbidden to use mail, telephone and the Internet, communicate with witnesses in the case and change their place of residence.

The criminal case against the three Neftekumians is just one of 116 cases brought against peaceful believers across Russia. As a result of these religious persecutions, 8 people have already received prison sentences, others have been fined heavily. Three believers were acquitted.