Pilshchikov Albert Valeryevich
Pilshchikov Albert Valeryevich
Albert Pilshchikov, a Jehovah's Witness from Cheboksary, was charged under the article concerning the organisation of extremist activities and placed under house arrest in March 2026.
According to the prosecution, Pilshchikov 'engaged in active organisational activities aimed at continuing the unlawful activities of an organisation banned by a court, which involved exercising overall leadership of a religious group (congregation)'.
As reported by a website covering the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, investigators presented a video recording in French as evidence of Pilshchikov's guilt. The prosecution claimed that it showed a meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses. Upon examination, however, it turned out to be a webinar on osteopathy.
The court sentenced Albert Pilshchikov to 6 years and 6 months' imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.