Updated: March 28, 2024
Name: Kolbanov Vladislav Sergeyevich
Date of Birth: November 27, 1992
Current status: convicted person
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation: 282.2 (2), 282.3 (1)
Time spent in prison: 2 day in a temporary detention facility, 149 day Under house arrest
Current restrictions: Suspended sentence
Sentence: punishment in the form of 3 years 6 months of imprisonment, with restriction of liberty for a term of 10 months, punishment in the form of imprisonment shall be considered conditional with a probationary period of 3 years

Biography

Vladislav Sergeevich Kolbanov was born in 1992 in Orenburg. He worked in the field of computer maintenance. When he was 6 years old, his mother, an engineer by training, began studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses and instilling Christian values in her children, Vladislav and his younger sister. In 2008, Vladislav was baptized in his newfound faith.

At the age of 18, Vladislav was waiting for a test: he asked the military registration and enlistment office to satisfy his legal right to replace military service with alternative civilian service. At first he was refused, but after three and a half years of litigation, he was given this opportunity. Throughout his service, Vladislav took care of the elderly in a nursing home in Orenburg.

Paradoxically, this meek young man, who fought for years for the right not to take up arms, is now accused of extremism. The criminal prosecution had a serious impact on the health of some members of his family. On the other hand, Vladislav's father, not being one of Jehovah's Witnesses, under the impression of his son's Christian steadfastness, began to read the Bible regularly.

Case History

In May 2018, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against Vladimir Kochnev, Vladislav Kolbanov, Pavel Lekontsev, Sergey Logunov and Nikolay Zhugin. Believers from Orenburg were accused of organizing and financing an extremist organization’s activities and participating in it because of friendly meetings in a café. After the searches, three men were released on recognizance not to leave, and two were detained. Kochnev spent 76 days in pre-trial detention and 72 days under house arrest, while Kolbanov spent 149 days under house arrest. In December 2019, the case went to court, but a month later it was returned to the prosecutor’s office due to the vague nature of the charges. The retrial of the case by another judge began in February 2021. The accusation is based on the testimony of the agent V. Yudin. In August 2023, the judge sentenced the believers to suspended sentences: Logunov and Zhugin — to two and a half years, Kochnev — to two years and eight months, Lekontsev — to three years, and Kolbanov — to three and a half years. The appellate court upheld the verdict.