Krasnodar Court Sends Music Teacher With Disability to Penal Colony for Practicing His Faith

On February 4, 2025, the Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnodar sentenced Aleksey Lelikov, 64, to 6.5 years in a penal colony. Judge Irina Klyuyeva considered holding meetings for worship of Jehovah's Witnesses to be organizing the activity of an extremist organization. The believer was taken into custody in the courtroom.

"I cannot agree to admit my guilt and call myself an extremist, even if it would benefit me," Lelikov said in his final statement, "because then it would mean that worshipping God is a crime. For me, this is tantamount to denying God and his son Jesus, who have nothing to do with any form of extremism."

Three years ago the FSB initiated a criminal case against Lelikov, a musician like his father and finalist in the Teacher of the Year competition. His house was searched, and the believer and members of his family were interrogated. Soon Lelikov's name was on the Rosfinmonitoring list, and his house and land were seized. In April 2022, due to impaired motor functions, Lelikov was categorized as having a disability.

The charges of extremism brought against the believer come down to organizing religious presentations, meetings for worship and studying religious literature. "It was difficult to read the charge containing so many lies," commented Lelikov. "I didn't expect these degrading words to be like poison." The charge was based on recordings of meetings for worship. The hearings in the case, which began in February 2023, revealed that the expert studies of these recordings contained contradictions and inconsistencies, which were highlighted by the defense.

In the Krasnodar Territory, 38 Jehovah's Witnesses have already been subjected to religious discrimination. At the moment, another 17 believers, including 7 women, are defending their beliefs in court.

In June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled to end the repression of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The ECHR declared the criminal prosecution of believers unlawful and called on the Russian authorities to release the prisoners.