Jehovah's Witness from Prokopyevsk Sentenced to 6 Years in Penal Colony

On June 4, 2026, Judge Yelena Zarubina of the Rudnichniy District Court handed down a guilty verdict against Vasiliy Shishkin, 54. The prosecutor requested 8.5 years in a penal colony. The believer was taken into custody.

"I do not admit my guilt in extremism out of stubbornness, pride, or unwillingness to repent, but because serving God cannot be a crime," Vasiliy explained in his final statement.

According to Vasiliy, the only thing established in court was that he is one of Jehovah's Witnesses, while no evidence was provided of any actual crime committed. Vasiliy's younger brother, who does not share his religious beliefs, testified in court in his support — he described his brother as a peaceful person.

For 2 years, Vasiliy and Irina Shishkin's apartment was secretly bugged — in addition to routine daily life, law enforcement officers listened as the believers discussed the Holy Scriptures. In the case file, these discussions were described as organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Later, criminal cases were initiated against both spouses. Irina is also being tried in the same court for participating in "extremist activity."

Vasiliy has a number of medical conditions that make living alone extremely difficult; he regularly takes prescribed medication — this information was available to the court and investigators. Nevertheless, for about 1.5 years prior to the verdict, Vasiliy was held under house arrest. During this entire period, the Shishkins were forbidden to live together, since Irina is also a witness in her husband's case. To distract himself from his condition, Vasiliy tried to stay busy: he repaired the apartment, read books, wrote poetry, and exercised as much as he could.

"I try not to be afraid of prison. Many of the fears are only in our heads and never actually happen," Vasiliy Shishkin said earlier.

The verdict will be appealed. Until it enters into force, the believer will be held in a pretrial detention center.

In the Kemerovo Region, 20 Jehovah's Witnesses — men and women ranging from 34 to 76 years old — have already become defendants in criminal cases on charges of extremism.