Sergey Filatov, a 53-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Crimea, was released from Correctional Colony No. 10 in Rostov-on-Don on January 21, 2026. A father of four, he fully served the sentence imposed—he had been in custody since March 2020.
Over the years of imprisonment, Sergey was held in a pretrial detention center as well as in two colonies and was able to adapt to the difficult conditions. "The hardest part was that so many cellmates smoke. I would walk into a cell and there'd be a thick, bluish cloud of smoke. I breathed fresh air through a little opening in the window," Sergey Filatov said. "Because of that, I had to explain my position. To be firm about it. But I tried to apply what the Bible teaches—to treat people the way I would want to be treated. As a result, my relationships with everyone turned out very good."
"He's very communicative, sociable, approachable, and down-to-earth," explained Nataliya, Sergey's wife. "These qualities helped him, even in prison, to find common ground with both the administration and the inmates. One inmate once told Sergey: 'Wherever you are, everything is always good.'"
The authorities valued the believer for his responsible attitude toward work and his diligence. Once in the colony, Sergey trained as a carpenter (grade 3) and then learned the trade of welding. He worked in the decorative wood-processing shop, the sewing workshop, and the metalworking shop; he did cold forging, made garden benches and trash receptacles, as well as structures for skate parks. In his second year of imprisonment, he was offered the position of director over all the colony's production facilities, which include the sewing and steel casting shops, an auto service station, and wallpaper and aerated concrete block manufacturing. "We don't have a better candidate than you," they told him. "You're not driven by vanity or greed; you're someone we can rely on." In his final year, Sergey was the foreman of metal production. In total, he received 13 commendations.
In 2023, after serving more than a third of his term, Filatov petitioned to have his imprisonment replaced with corrective labor. The court denied the request, despite the colony administration providing a positive character reference for the believer. He also petitioned for parole but was again denied, with the decision stating that he "did not admit guilt to committing a crime." Most recently, the believer was held under eased conditions of confinement.
According to family members, Sergey worried about his family, especially his children, because for several years he could not take a full part in their upbringing. The first years of his imprisonment coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions caused by it, the believer was unable to see his loved ones for almost two years. While Filatov was imprisoned, his father passed away.
Under his constrained circumstances, Sergey used any opportunity to show attention to his family. "Sergey really encouraged and supported me with his warm letters and the poems he dedicated to me... And for long visits he would always bring fresh or dried roses or other flowers. It was so sweet and touching," the believer's wife said.
"Prison is not the worst place. Jehovah gives strength and support everywhere. Here in the colony, even more so," Sergey shared.
Altogether, 35 Jehovah's Witnesses in Crimea have already faced criminal prosecution. The overwhelming majority of those convicted—14 people (82%)—received six years or more in prison.
