In Kuban Elderly Jehovah's Witness Dies in Detention Center — He Was Denied Medical Care for Almost a Year

On March 20, 2025, 67-year-old retired police officer, Valeriy Baylo, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, died in the hospital of Novorossiysk shortly after being rushed there from the pretrial detention center. Valeriy waited almost a year in the detention center for his sentence to enter into force, and during all this time he tried to get medical help.

In July 2024, the court sentenced Valeriy to 2.5 years in a penal colony, deeming peaceful conversations about the Bible via video link to be extremism.

The believer suffered from a gastrointestinal tract illness and stage 2-3 osteoarthritis of the knee. He also needed urgent dental care: in the detention center, the only tooth with which he could chew food became inflamed. Prison food caused digestive problems, so he ate very little, mostly only drinking water. Valeriy also walked with difficulty and needed surgery: in 2018, he was attacked by dogs, after which his completely torn knee ligaments were sewn back together; but over time, his kneecap needed replacing.

Valeriy appealed to the prosecutor's office of the Krasnodar Territory, the regional Commissioner for Human Rights, the head of the medical unit No. 23 of Krasnodar and the head of the pretrial detention center. As a result, the member of staff of the prosecutor's office supervising correctional institutions, together with the detention center officer, expressed annoyance with the complaints of the believer and threatened him with physical violence and harsher conditions while serving his sentence.

On March 21, Valeriy Baylo's lawyer filed a claim against the head of the investigative department of Novorossiysk about the crime committed. "The death of my client occurred as a result of criminal negligence and inaction on the part of the administration of detention center No. 3 in Novorossiysk regarding failure to provide him with medical care," said the lawyer. The claim lists numerous facts of ignoring Valeriy Baylo's complaints about his health. On March 7, the lawyer appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation with a complaint about the failure to provide medical care to his client and the misuse of funds when trying to provide it. There is still no response to this complaint.

The death of Valeriy Baylo is the 13th case of death in the context of the criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses since the start of present day persecution. Three women and ten men aged 51 to 90 died before their good name was restored. Some believers are at risk in prison due to poor health. For example, Andrey Vlasov, a disabled person, urgently needs surgical intervention by a neurosurgeon, otherwise he is at risk of ischemic stroke of the spinal cord and complete paralysis of the limbs. Adam Svarichevskiy, another disabled person, has difficulty obtaining medical care and medication, while they periodcally make his conditions of detention in the penal colony worse. Boris Andreyev, 72, and Anatoliy Marunov, 71, who were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, remain behind bars. The first needs to be examined due to suspected cancer, the second is scheduled for surgery at the end of March 2025.