Uray Court Convicted Andrey Sazonov for the Third Time. Fine Again

To oblige Andrey Sazonov to pay 450 thousand rubles — such a verdict was heard by one of Jehovah's Witness from Uray on October 17, 2025. This is the third time that the Uray City Court has found him guilty in the same case of extremism.

Since the early 2000s, Andrey Sazonov worked at a local heat supply company and at the time of his arrest held the position of first deputy general director. He lost this job due to persecution. "When the criminal case began," says Andrey, "the director and colleagues immediately began to sign a petition so that I not be sent to custody. In just half an hour, about 80 people subscribed. The second time, when there was a court of appeal and I was in a pre-trial detention center, they had already 121 those who signed — and that's not all who wanted to!" Referring to this story in his final statement, the believer commented: "These people do not share my religious beliefs, but they want to continue working with me ... Isn't this convincing proof of the absence of extremism?"

Even witnesses from the prosecution stood up for Andrey. Artem Demidov, who conducted covert video filming of religious meetings, describing him, said in court: "You are a super-person, you should be looked up to!"

The first search took place in the Sazonov family in 2019. "When the law enforcement officers broke in, my knee was broken, and I had to call an ambulance," Andrey said. The court later declared that search illegal. The second time the capture group arrived about a month later, with a fire truck. The couple said that they saw an unknown person pour something flammable over the fence of their house and set it on fire. Under the pretext of extinguishing the fire, law enforcement officers entered the territory, demanded to open the door, while threatening to cut it down. They read out the search warrant only after repeated demands from the owners.

"During the searches, the children, son Slava and daughter Irina, were still of school age. My son was 11 years old then," recalls Andrey's wife, Victoria. "Our city is small, information spreads quickly. The teachers, having learned what had happened, sympathized with us. The children were already adults beyond their years, not whiny... When Andrey was detained, my son held on at first, but then, when we sorted out the things scattered by the law enforcement officers, he burst into tears. The next day, our friends arrived - some 250 kilometers away, some over 750, some over 1000. One of them comforted Slava. And the next day Slava suddenly said: "Mom, I won't cry anymore." I asked: "Why?" He answered: "I understand what dad suffers for - for Jehovah."

For 6.5 years, the case of Andrey Sazonov was considered in court three times and each time ended in a guilty verdict and a fine. All this time, the believer defended himself on his own. "The biggest difficulty was the duration of the trials, when everything is delayed...", said Victoria, reflecting on their experience. She added: "Of course, I felt tired. Each time it became more and more difficult to force myself to sit down again and prepare for trial. It would seem that everything is already clear, but each time I wanted to do everything flawlessly. It took a lot of time and effort."

All the time of the persecution, Andrey's family and friends did not leave him without support. Speaking with the final statement, the believer addressed them as well: "Thank you for your support, attention and love. Such friendship is worth a lot."

The story of Andrey Sazonov is not unique: like him, the families of the Pryanikovs, Dulovs, Bazhenovs and other believers from different regions of the country also had to defend themselves several times in different court instances.