Case History
In March 2026, in the closed city of Vilyuchinsk, the local office of the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Jehovah's Witnesses. Sergey Protasov, Mikhail Popov, Aleksandr and Vera Bondur were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization. Searches of the homes of the believers were conducted, and the suspects signed recognizance agreements. Because of the criminal prosecution, Protasov was suspended from work. For Mikhail Popov, this is the second case against him for his faith. In October 2026, Aleksey Vishnyakov became a new defendant in the case.