First of Jehovah’s Witnesses Convicted in Volgograd Released

On December 5, 2025, Igor Egozaryan was released from the penal colony. He had been sentenced to 6 years. He actually spent more than 3.5 years in the correctional facility. Taking previous restrictions into account, his term was recalculated, and he was released earlier than originally planned.

The believer served his sentence in two penal colonies in Udmurtia — in Liuga and Sarapul. After his transfer, Igor had to adapt to many things, since the facility had previously been a high-security penal colony, and for some time, old, stricter rules were still in effect. This was evident both in the regulations and in the administration's attitude toward inmates. Igor had many personal belongings taken away, even all his socks except the black ones. Once a week, inmates underwent a full personal search, whereas in the previous penal colony, such procedures were carried out only a couple of times. All this was discouraging, but there were also positive changes. For example, Igor was pleased with the new, more nourishing rations, which included milk and omelets.

During his years in the penal colony, Igor worked in various workshops. At first, he was in the sewing unit. At that time, the supervisor made an exception and allowed him to sew warm trousers for himself. Later, he moved to the metalworking shop due to health problems: working with synthetic padding had affected him negatively. Igor also completed training as a stoker.

While imprisoned, Igor received numerous letters from around the world. However, some letters were heavily censored: they were delivered with extensive redactions, trimmed pages, or without a reply envelope. Twice, Igor's Bible was confiscated — in Liuga, this was explained by the absence of a special stamp from the Orthodox Church, and in Sarapul, the believer was deprived of his Bible even though it bore stamps from the local eparchy and the correctional colony.

Three fellow believers of Igor Egozaryan, who were convicted along with him, are expected to be released next year.