Five Jehovah’s Witnesses from Saratov Oblast are political prisoners
On the charge of extremism, Mikhail Proshenkov, Aleksei Kazakov, Aleksandr Akelin and Filipp Ombysh have been taken into custody, and Sergei Yefremov has been placed under house arrest.
The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Mikhail Proshenkov, Aleksei Kazakov, Aleksandr Akelin, Filipp Ombysh and Sergei Yefremov to be political prisoners. They are being prosecuted under the article on organising the activities of an extremist organisation. The criminal case against the Jehovah’s Witnesses from Saratov violates their right to freedom of religion. We demand that they be released immediately and that all criminal charges against them be dropped.
What are the charges against the five Jehovah’s Witnesses?
On 28 February 2025, senior investigator of the Saratov Oblast FSB (Federal Security Service) headquarters, Major of Justice A. N. Pridatko opened a criminal case for the “organisation of the activities of an extremist organisation” (article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code).
On 3 and 4 September, law enforcement officers conducted searches at no fewer than 5 Jehovah’s Witnesses’ addresses, located in Saratov and the village of Anastasino. FSB officers seized electronic devices and data carriers, as well as personal notes.
After the searches, the 5 believers were taken to a police station for interrogation and then put into a pre-trial detention centre. The investigator also interrogated their wives and children.
On 5 September, the Frunzensky District Court of Saratov chose house arrest as a restrictive measure for 29-year-old Sergei Yefremov and remand in custody for 58-year-old Mikhail Proshenkov, 56-year-old Aleksei Kazakov, 59-year-old Aleksandr Akelin and 40-year-old Filipp Ombysh.
Under the article on organising extremist activities, the believers face imprisonment for up to 10 years.
Why do we consider the deprived of liberty Jehovah’s Witnesses political prisoners?
On 20 April 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia issued the decision to declare the Russian “Administrative Centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses” an extremist organisation.
We consider it discriminatory to bring charges against individuals on the sole basis that, as Jehovah’s Witnesses, they may have participated in rituals and gatherings or distributed materials related to their faith. Furthermore, such charges violate international legal norms, particularly the right to freedom of religion. In essence, under article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code, believers are charged with having been members of an organised religious group—an accusation that is unequivocally unlawful.
On 7 June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found Russia’s ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses and the prosecution of believers illegal.
The ECHR ruled that Russia had violated the believers’ right to freedom of religion (article 9 of the European Convention), freedom of expression (article 10), freedom of association (article 11), as well as the right to protection of property (article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention).
Further information on the prosecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia is available here.
The recognition of an individual as a political prisoner does not imply that the ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project agrees with, or approves, their views, statements or actions.
How can you help?
You can write letters to the accused at the following address:
Ru:
410012, г. Саратов, ул. Кутякова, д. 105, ФКУ СИЗО-1 УФСИН России по Саратовской области,
- Акелин Александр Николаевич, 1966 г. р.
- Казаков Алексей Сергеевич, 1969 г. р.
- Омбыш Филипп Валерьевич, 1985 г. р.
- Прошенков Михаил Николаевич, 1967 г. р.
En:
- Akelin Aleksandr Nikolaevich, born 1966,
- Kazakov Aleksei Sergeevich, born 1969,
- Ombysh Filipp Valerievich, born 1985,
- Proshenkov Mikhail Nikolaevich, born 1967,
Remand Prison No. 1, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Saratov Oblast, 105 Kutyakova Street, Saratov, 410012, Russia.
You can also send an email using ZT (payment with all bank cards), OVD-Info and Memorial-France (free of charge).
Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.
You can donate through our website to help all political prisoners in Russia.
