Large Fines Imposed on Eight of Jehovah's Witnesses from Gryazi The believers, their friends and relatives in front of the courthouse, July 2025

The Gryazi Town Court fined eight Jehovah's Witnesses, including two elderly women aged 68 and 72, for talking about religion and participating in meetings for worship. The fines vary from 250 to 550 thousand rubles. The trial lasted almost two years and ended on July 28, 2025.

Valeriy Khmil, a father of three minors, recalls how four and a half years ago officers of the Investigative Committee and riot police broke into his house: "It was early in the morning. The children were scared, although the law enforcement officers tried to behave correctly." His wife, Kira, faced pressure during the search. "One of the masked law enforcement officers said that if I don't testify, my husband will be imprisoned for ten years. I answered: my father, brother, uncle and grandfather were imprisoned for their faith. And my husband will sit for a while," she recalls. Valeriy was not detained immediately, a few months later - on Children's Day.

After the raid, seven believers, including elderly women, ended up in a temporary detention center. Later, Reshetnikov and Kretov spent almost eight months in a pre-trial detention center, then another four under house arrest. All defendants in the case are included in the list of extremists of Rosfinmonitoring.

"I lost my job. And I couldn't get another one while the trial was going on," says Khmil. "But the most difficult thing during house arrest was social isolation, the inability to share feelings. Over time, I learned to control my emotions. My wife and I tried to help others. This allowed me not to get hung up on myself." Sergey Kretov, an automation engineer, recalls that he was also left without a job because of the arrest, but his good reputation helped to improve the situation: "After my release from prison, my former boss came to me, said: 'Such people should not sit at home!' and took me to a new place."

The persecution brought other problems as well. Sergey said that after the imprisonment he developed an emotional disorder and had to consult a specialist. "It was a real depression - I could not make even an elementary decision. It took two years to come to my senses." The arrest of the believer was a blow to his entire family. Kretov's daughter, Yelizaveta, recalls: "In one day, everything turned upside down. Lawyers, papers, documents - we were constantly stewing in this mess. I was fifteen. I had to grow up very quickly. Learn to make your own decisions, accept help..."

Believers claim that the accusations of extremism are related solely to religious affiliation. The case was based on audio and video recordings of meetings for worship, as well as wiretapping. As the defense notes, these materials, on the contrary, demonstrate the peaceful nature of the assemblies and confirm innocence. Even at the investigation stage, it was clear that at least some law enforcement officers did not consider them dangerous extremists. According to Khmil, in their case, one of the investigators strongly apologized for his actions and justified them with an "order from above".

In 2024, the UN Human Rights Council's special rapporteur, Mariana Katsarova, expressed concern about the application of Russian legislation on extremism. In her report, she noted that "the definitions of extremism are too vague and allow for arbitrary application," especially in relation to religious minorities such as Jehovah's Witnesses.