Served Sentences

Saransk Resident Aleksandr Shevchuk, one of Jehovah's Witnesses Convicted for his Faith, was Released From the Penal Colony

Mordovia

On November 3, 2023, Aleksandr Shevchuk was released from Penal Colony No. 12 for the Republic of Mordovia. For "disseminating belief" in Jehovah God, he spent almost 2 years behind bars – 9 months in a pretrial detention and 8.5 months in the penal colony.

Aleksandr Shevchuk is a descendant of Jehovah's Witnesses, who were exiled to Siberia and later exonerated as victims of Stalinist repressions. He was detained after searches in February 2019. At the time of the trial, he was released under a recognizance agreement. Aleksandr served the sentence imposed by the court in correctional colony No. 12 for the Republic of Mordovia.

While serving his sentence, Aleksandr Shevchuk worked in the sewing workshop. The administration and the prisoners treated him with respect.

According to Aleksandr, he had the opportunity more than once to defend his Bible-based beliefs behind bars. "At first, my cellmates were hostile to my position. But over time, they understood, and we had good conversations," Shevchuk said about one of the periods of being under arrest. "Such conversations helped me to maintain my joy. Of course, not just them. Letters from friends brought special joy. There was something in every letter that was especially for me."

According to the lawyer, one of the employees once even said that "this place is not for him."

The rest of the defendants in the case - Georgiy and Yelena Nikulin, Vladimir Atryakhin, Aleksandr Korolev and Denis Antonov - are still serving sentences in correctional colonies for their faith in God.

The Case of Shevchuk and Others in Saransk

Case History
In February 2019, in Saransk, the FSB initiated a criminal case against three believers on suspicion of extremism. After mass searches, Vladimir Atryakhin, father of two young children, as well as Aleksandr Shevchuk and Georgiy Nikulin ended up in a pretrial detention center, where they spent between 2 and 5 months. Later, three more defendants appeared in the case — Aleksandr Korolev, Elena Nikulina and Denis Antonov. The case went to court in May 2021. The defense managed to show the court several times that the unveiled secret witness, Vlasov, was giving false testimony. In August 2022, the believers were convicted: Vladimir Atryakhin was sentenced to 6 years, Georgiy and Yelena Nikulin — 4 years and 2 months, and Aleksandr Shevchuk, Aleksandr Korolev and Denis Antonov — 2 years in a penal colony. The court of appeal upheld the verdict. In November 2023, Shevchuk was released from the penal colony, and in June 2024, Korolev and Antonov were released.
Timeline

Persons in case

Korolev
Aleksandr
Antonov
Denis
Atrуakhin
Vladimir
Nikulin
Georgiy
Nikulina
Elena
Shevchuk
Aleksandr

Criminal case

Region:
Mordovia
Locality:
Saransk
Suspected of:
they "disseminated ideology and belief among the citizens of the Republic of Mordovia... by conducting conversations with citizens of Saransk in public and in residential buildings" which is interpreted as "organising the activity of an extremist organisation"
Court case number:
11907890001000003
Initiated:
February 4, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate for the Republic of Mordovia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1), 282.2 (1.1)
Court case number:
1-13/2022 (1-216/2021)
Court:
Leninskiy District Court of the City of Saransk
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Yelena Simonova
Case History
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