Court in Vladivostok Passed Verdict in Case of 7 of Jehovah's Witnesses. Two Men Received Real Prison Terms

On February 3, 2025, the Pervorechensky District Court sentenced Jehovah's Witnesses from Vladivostok to various terms, up to 7 years in a penal colony. Judge Galina Vasilkevich considered peaceful religious activity to be extremism. The husband of one of the defendants, Dmitriy Barmakin, has been sentenced to 8 years in colony on similar charges.

Igor Lonchakov was sentenced to 7 years in prison, Yuriy Redozubov — to 6 years and 6 months. The women received suspended sentences: Yekaterina Treguba and Lyudviga Katanaeva — 3 years and 4 months each with a probationary period of 3 years; Yelena Barmakina, Yelena Tsorn and 65-year-old Nina Astvatsaturova — 3 years each with a probationary period of 3 years.

This case is one of the longest in the history of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in modern Russia. Back in the fall of 2017, an infiltrated FSB agent, Yekaterina Petrova, began secretly recording worship services of believers. Yelena Barmakina was the first to be prosecuted. Later, her case was combined with the cases against nine of her fellow believers.

The Investigative Committee accused Yuriy Redozubov and Igor Lonchakov of organizing the activities of an extremist organization, and Yelena Barmakina, Yelena Tsorn, Nina Astvatsaturova, Lyudviga Katanaeva, Yekaterina Treguba, Alibek Kartayganov and spouses Roman and Violetta Verigin of participating in this activity. In 2023, the consideration of the case against Kartayganov and the Verigins was suspended.

Yelena Barmakina twice defended her right to freedom of religion in court. In 2020, the court returned her case to the prosecutor, and in 2022 she was brought to trial again along with the rest of the believers. Speaking during the debate, she said: "A new charge has been brought against me, but in fact its plot and description of the criminal act incriminated to me have not changed. I am charged with all the same actions as before: reading and discussing texts from the Bible... participation in the performance of religious chants and prayers and watching videos of sermons." Nina Astvatsaturova commented on the charges: "During these meetings, there were no extremist statements calling for the commission of illegal actions against anyone."

In parallel with the case of Yelena and her fellow believers, the Pervorechensky District Court considered the case of her husband, Dmitriy Barmakin, who was initially acquitted, but later sent to a penal colony. He is serving his sentence in the Samara region, 7,500 kilometers from Vladivostok.