Five and a Half Years in a Penal Colony for Six Lunches. One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Moscow Was Convicted for Financing Extremism

Judge of the Savyolovskiy District Court Dmitriy Neudakhin sentenced Viktor Velikov to 5.5 years in a penal colony on December 18, 2025. This is not Neudakhin's first decision on Jehovah's Witnesses: for 4 years he issued rulings on the restriction measure in the cases of Moscow believers, choosing, as a rule, strict restrictions.

The Velikov case relates to the trial of Aleksandr Serebryakov. It was as part of his case that the first search took place in the Velikovs' house in the fall of 2023. The charges are identical: the men are persecuted for providing meals to believers at a six-day peaceful worship event.

Viktor's house was searched for a second time in April 2025. After him, he ended up behind bars—he was separated from his wife and son. "They didn't give us visits for two months," recalls Olga, the believer's wife. "The investigator constantly refused. He said that it was not his style to give permission." She adds that even behind bars her husband did not lose his positive qualities: he treats others with compassion and tries to take care of others.

Viktor Velikov is 50. He is a representative of the working profession—a lining operator in the production of industrial furnaces. The man has been a Jehovah's Witness for over 20 years.

The Savelovskiy District Court has been considering the case since July 2025. The prosecutor demanded that Viktor be sent to a penal colony for 7 years.

This is the sixteenth conviction in Moscow, where 23 Jehovah's Witnesses have faced persecution for their beliefs, 13 of them are serving sentences in penal colonies.