Denis Peresunko leaving the penal colony. June 2026

Denis Peresunko leaving the penal colony. June 2026

Denis Peresunko leaving the penal colony. June 2026

Served Sentences

Denis Peresunko from Volgograd Released from Penal Colony

Volgograd Region

"When the door opened and I saw my friends I was overjoyed. I realized I was free." This is how Denis Peresunko, 48, one of Jehovah's Witnesses, described his initial feelings after his release. He was convicted under an article for extremism for reading the Bible with others. On June 9, 2026, his prison term came to an end.

The prosecution began back in the summer of 2019. Denis Peresunko, who is disabled, was detained and placed in a pretrial detention center for 5 months, where several of his fellow believers were already being held. The court proceedings were held during the height of the COVID pandemic which claimed the life of Denis' wife, Olga. In September 2021, Denis Peresunko was again behind bars, this time for years.

"In prison there are people too — calm, good people you can talk to. The most important thing is to always rely on God, on his principles and advice," Denis concluded. He served his sentence 1,200 kilometers from home in a penal colony in Udmurtia. The believer worked in the sewing workshop, making inflatable sleds. Denis often exceeded the set quota and twice received an award.

Denis Peresunko is one of 84 Jehovah's Witnesses who have served prison terms for their beliefs. Another 115 believers remain in penal colonies.

The Case of Rogozin and Others in Volgograd

Case History
In the spring of 2019, the Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Volgograd. Sergey Melnik, Igor Egozaryan, Valeriy Rogozin, and Denis Peresunko were charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization; the last two were also charged with financing the activity of an extremist organization. They spent between 5 and 7 months in a pretrial detention center. The lawyers drew the judge’s attention to numerous procedural violations by the investigation. Some witnesses stated that their testimony had been falsified. Secret witnesses were questioned anonymously — according to their own statements, they feared for their life and health. In September 2021, the court sentenced the 4 believers to prison terms ranging from 6 years to 6 years and 5 months. In March 2022, the court of appeal upheld the verdict. In December 2025,Egozaryan and Melnik were released; in April 2026, Rogozin completed his sentence. The last of the four defendants, Denis Peresunko, was released in June 2026.
Timeline

Persons in case

Egozaryan
Igor
Melnik
Sergey
Peresunko
Denis
Rogozin
Valeriy

Criminal case

Region:
Volgograd Region
Locality:
Volgograd
Suspected of:
according to the investigation, he repeatedly participated "in mass events to view, listen, discuss audio and video materials promoting the cult of religious superiority of the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses"
Court case number:
11902180028000016
Initiated:
May 16, 2019
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Volgograd Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1), 282.3 (1)
Court case number:
1-2/2021 (1-56/2020)
Court:
Traktorozavodskiy District Court of the City of Volgograd
Judge:
Irina Struk
Case History
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