Case History
In April 2018, searches were carried out in Khabarovsk at the homes of Sergey Semenyuk and Sergey Svetonosov. According to investigators, a group of believers, including Semenyuk and Svetonosov, gathered in a conference room to read and discuss the Bible, sing and pray together. Both believers were interrogated as witnesses in the case of Valeriy Moskalenko, but soon became accused themselves. The FSB Directorate for the Khabarovsk Territory initiated a criminal case. The investigation interprets the discussion of the Bible as a continuation of extremist activities. Semenyuk and Svetonosov were charged in absentia and on the international wanted list. In August 2019, the Zheleznodorozhnyy District Court chose a restriction measure for them in the absence of believers: detention.