Jehovah’s Witness Sona Olopova was released on parole

On July 7, Sona Olopova was released on parole from the Samara correctional center, where she had been serving a sentence of forced labor since May 2024. This was reported by the portal Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Legal Situation in Russia.

A criminal case against Sona Olopova under the so-called “extremism” article was initiated in May 2023. Her home was searched, and after being interrogated, she was released under a travel ban.

On January 25, 2024, the court found Olopova guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2, Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and sentenced her to two years of forced labor.

In June 2025, the court granted her motion for parole.

In April 2017, the Russian Supreme Court declared the “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” an extremist organization and ordered its liquidation. In August of the same year, all Jehovah’s Witnesses congregations were added to the list of banned extremist organizations.

We consider Sona Olopova, along with other Jehovah’s Witnesses imprisoned for their faith, to be political prisoners.