"Despite All Problems, We Serve God, We Are Alive and Happy." Court Fined Three of Jehovah's Witnesses from Saratov

The verdict announced by Yelena Marina on December 17, 2025, brought an end to the trial against Anton Bashabaev, Aleksey Vasiliyev, and Aleksey Yefremov. Each of them was fined 600,000 rubles for talking about the Bible.

The criminal case was initiated 2 years earlier, followed shortly by a raid. "While the search was underway, paramedics were giving me IV drips and injections," Yefremov recalls. "Then interrogation, detention center, and trial. I have many health issues: heart attacks, blood pressure problems, diabetes... The investigators were told about this. But I was given neither food nor medication. Only thanks to God was my wife able to bring insulin to the detention center." Just like Vasiliyev and Bashabaev, he spent a day in a temporary detention facility before being placed under house arrest for nearly a year.

The convicted believers are middle-aged family men (41 to 61), each married for many years. After their arrests, the burden of solving numerous problems fell on their wives. "The hardest thing for me back then was watching my daughter and wife leave for school and errands, then seeing them from the window carrying heavy bags of groceries, and feeling helpless because I couldn't help them," said Aleksey Vasiliyev. Anton Bashabaev said: "I'm grateful to my wife for her resilience and for always supporting me. When you have strong backing, it gives you confidence."

For Vasiliyev, the criminal prosecution also meant losing his job — he was a commercial director in the oil industry: "I held an excellent position, had a good salary, and was valued and respected at work. In an instant, it all disappeared, and all my accounts were frozen." Being labelled an extremist brought other consequences for Aleksey as well. "Under threat of dismissal, my colleagues were forbidden to talk to me. Those who supposedly respected me vanished," he added.

"Despite all the pressure and problems, we serve God, we are alive, happy, and have a wonderful future ahead of us," concluded Aleksey Yefremov.

Hearings at the Frunzenskiy District Court of Saratov were held behind closed doors and lasted just over 2 months. "When you interact with authorities and participate in court proceedings, you realize they're all ordinary people, most of whom have nothing against you personally," commented Anton Bashabaev on his impressions of the process.

In the Saratov Region, 20 of Jehovah's Witnesses have faced criminal prosecution on religious grounds. Already 10 of them have served their main sentences.