Filatov Denis

In the fall of 2020, 12 apartments of peaceful believers in Nizhnekamsk were invaded by FSB officers and riot policemen. The investigation opened a criminal case under an extremist article. The reason was that the security forces “revealed the methods of activity inherent in the religious organization Jehovah’s Witnesses” - the performance of religious songs and prayers. Since August 2021, Dmitry Yarchak, who suffers from cerebral palsy, as well as Denis Filatov and Stanislav Klyuchnikov have been under recognizance not to leave. Their case went to court in January 2022. Several witnesses stated that they gave testimony to the investigator under pressure and threats from the security forces, and one woman reported that the investigator arbitrarily wrote words in the protocol that she did not say. Part of the accusation was based on the testimony of a secret witness. In September 2023, the court sentenced Filatov, Klyuchnikov and Yarchak to 6 years of suspended imprisonment, and in December the appeal upheld this decision.