Google machine translation
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one’s belief or religion
The right to join together and express one’s belief
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: Criminal case against Jehovah's Witness "leader"
Russian officials in occupied Donetsk Region arrested and charged a man identified only as K. for being a "leader of the banned religious organisation Jehovah's Witnesses". The Russian-controlled Donetsk Supreme Court said he had been active in the organisation the Russians deem "extremist" between 2018 and 2023. A Donetsk court ordered two months' pre-trial detention. If convicted, he faces up to six years in jail. "No individual should be criminally charged or detained simply for practising their religion", UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared in a May report on Russian-occupied Ukraine.
On 26 August, the Russian-controlled Donetsk Supreme Court announced that a man it identified only as K. is facing criminal charges of "participating in a banned extremist organisation". If convicted, he faces a possible maximum six-year jail term. It described the man – who has been ordered held in pre-trial detention for two months - as a "leader of the banned religious organisation Jehovah's Witnesses".
Forum 18 called the Russian-controlled Donetsk Investigative Committee. The duty officer listened to Forum 18 identifying itself and outlining the case, then put the phone down (see below).
It is unclear when the man was arrested and if he is being held in Investigation Prison No. 1 in Donetsk. An official of the Russian-controlled Prisons Administration for Donetsk Region refused to give Forum 18 any information or give a number of a relevant official at Investigation Prison No. 1. He claimed the prison has no telephones. A listed number for the prison was unreachable (see below).
Officials at the office of the Russian-appointed Human Rights Ombudsperson for Donetsk Darya Morozova did not answer the phone each time Forum 18 called (see below).
Russia banned Jehovah's Witnesses as "extremist" in 2017. It is imposing this ban on areas of Ukraine it has illegally occupied. Russian-controlled courts in occupied Crimea have already jailed Jehovah's Witnesses for continuing to meet for worship. Forum 18 is not aware of any prosecutions for this so far in other Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine (see below).
In a May report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General António Guterres repeated earlier UN calls for Russia to respect freedom of religion or belief. "The occupying authorities of the Russian Federation continued to restrict the right to freedom of religion and belief for certain religious communities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," he declared (see below).
"No individual should be criminally charged or detained simply for practising their religion, including in the forms of collective worship and proselytizing, in accordance with international human rights law," Secretary-General Guterres insisted. "Religious groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine should enjoy access to their places of worship and be able to gather freely for prayer and other religious practices" (see below).
The official who answered the phone at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva promised to put Forum 18 through to an official who could give a response to Secretary-General Guterres' comments on violations of freedom of religion or belief in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. After Forum 18 waited on the line for several minutes the connection was cut. Subsequent calls went unanswered (see below).
Among the concerns UN Secretary-General Guterres raised was the 14-year jail term handed to Ukrainian Orthodox priest Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov from Tokmak in occupied Zaporizhzhia Region in August 2024. He is now in a labour camp in Russia's Saratov Region. On 27 June 2025, the Russian prison authorities transferred Fr Kostiantyn to a new strict-regime labour camp in the same Russian region (see below).
The Russian occupation authorities continue to raid places of worship, particularly those of the Council of Churches Baptists. Their congregations choose not to seek official registration in any country where they operate. They also refuse to notify the authorities of the start of their activity. Russian officials claim that their exercise of freedom of religion or belief – including meeting for worship or sharing their faith – is therefore illegal (see forthcoming F18News article).
Russian-controlled courts continue to impose punishments for meeting for worship or sharing faith without Russian permission. Courts are known to have punished for "missionary" activity at least 1 person in May, 1 in June, 3 in July and 2 so far in August. Under provisions punishing religious communities for failing to give their full, official name under Russian registration, courts are known to have punished at least 1 community in May and 2 in June (see forthcoming F18News article).
- illegal annexation of territory and imposition of Russian law violating human rights;
- pressuring, kidnapping, torturing, jailing, and murdering religious leaders;
- stopping meetings for worship, banning and closing religious communities;
- jailing prisoners of conscience for exercising freedom of religion or belief;
- transnational repression;
- banning religious texts and purging libraries;
- "anti-missionary" prosecutions; and
- the broadcasting of disinformation against religious communities and believers.
It is illegal under international law for Russia to enforce its own laws on occupied Ukrainian territory, as Russia is required to leave Ukrainian law in force.
On 26 August, the Russian-controlled Donetsk Supreme Court announced that a man it identified only as K. is facing a case under Russian Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2 ("Participating in a banned extremist organisation"). It described him as a "leader of the banned religious organisation Jehovah's Witnesses".
Punishments under Russian Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2 are:
– two to six years' imprisonment, plus a possible ban on holding certain positions and/or carrying out certain activities for up to five years, and compulsory restrictions on freedom for up to one year after release;
- or a 300,000 to 600,000 Russian Rouble fine;
- or one to four years' assigned work and compulsory restrictions on freedom for up to one year, plus a possible ban on holding certain positions and/or carrying out certain activities for up to three years.
Since Russia's Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jehovah's Witness organisations in 2017 and outlawed their activities as "extremist", more than 800 people in Russia have faced prosecution under Criminal Code Article 282.2 for "organising" (Part 1), or "participating in" (Part 2) the activities of a banned "extremist" organisation.
The Russian occupation authorities have similarly prosecuted and jailed Jehovah's Witnesses from occupied Crimea. Forum 18 is not aware of any prosecutions so far in other Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
The investigators who opened the criminal case in Donetsk accuse the man of "deliberate activity directly linked to" Jehovah's Witnesses "on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic" between 26 September 2018 and 6 May 2023.
The Russian-controlled Voroshilov Inter-District Court in the city of Donetsk ordered that the man be held in pre-trial detention for two months. The announcement gave no date for the decision. The decision has entered legal force.
Forum 18 called the Russian-controlled Donetsk Investigative Committee on 28 August. The duty officer listened to Forum 18 identifying itself and outlining the case, then put the phone down. Subsequent calls went unanswered.
Officials at the office of the Russian-appointed Human Rights Ombudsperson for Donetsk Darya Morozova did not answer the phone each time Forum 18 called on 28 August.
It is unclear when the man was arrested and if he is being held in Investigation Prison No. 1 in Donetsk. An official at the Russian-controlled Prisons Administration for Donetsk Region refused to give Forum 18 any information on 28 August or give a number of a relevant official at Investigation Prison No. 1. He claimed the prison has no telephones. A listed number for the prison was unreachable.
The Russian occupation authorities have earlier announced criminal cases against individuals they claimed were Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the individuals were not Jehovah's Witnesses.
In a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (A/HRC/59/67), published on 28 May, UN Secretary-General António Guterres repeated earlier UN calls for Russia to respect freedom of religion or belief.
"The occupying authorities of the Russian Federation continued to restrict the right to freedom of religion and belief for certain religious communities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," Guterres declared.
"All congregations of the Jehovah's Witnesses remained under a blanket prohibition." Guterres noted further criminal prosecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian-occupied Crimea. He also highlighted a fine on and stripping of registration from the Alushta Muslim community in Crimea. He noted the earlier detention of two Greek Catholic priests, as well as "the seizure of churches, and pressure from the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation to reregister Catholic communities under Russian legislation".
Secretary-General Guterres also mentioned the 14-year jail term handed to Ukrainian Orthodox priest Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov from Tokmak in occupied Zaporizhzhia Region in August 2024 and who is now in a labour camp in Russia's Saratov Region.
(On 27 June 2025, the Russian prison authorities transferred Fr Kostiantyn to a new strict-regime labour camp in the same Russian region. His new address:
410080 g. Saratov
Sokursky trakt d. 57
FKU Ispravitelnaya koloniya No. 10 UFSIN Rossii po Saratovskoi oblasti, Russian Federation)
"The priest had earlier been removed from his position in the church for refusing to pray for the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and criticizing priests who cooperated with the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation," Secretary-General Guterres noted. "He was arrested while attempting to leave the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and tried in secret proceedings."
"I urge the Russian Federation to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, association, thought, conscience and religion can be freely exercised by all individuals and groups living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine without discrimination on any grounds or unjustified interference," Guterres insisted.
"No individual should be criminally charged or detained simply for practising their religion, including in the forms of collective worship and proselytizing, in accordance with international human rights law. Religious groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine should enjoy access to their places of worship and be able to gather freely for prayer and other religious practices."
The official who answered the phone at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva on 28 August promised to put Forum 18 through to an official who could give a response to Secretary-General Guterres' comments on violations of freedom of religion or belief in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. After Forum 18 waited on the line for several minutes the connection was cut. Subsequent calls went unanswered. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Occupied Ukraine
For background information, see Forum 18's Occupied Ukraine religious freedom survey
Follow us on Bluesky @Forum18
Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService
Follow us on Telegram @Forum18NewsService
Follow us on WhatsApp Forum 18
Follow us on X/Twitter @Forum_18
All Forum 18 material may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the source.
All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen.
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.
Investigation Prison No. 1, Donetsk, 2025
Airbus Maxar Technologies/Google
It is unclear when the man was arrested and if he is being held in Investigation Prison No. 1 in Donetsk. An official of the Russian-controlled Prisons Administration for Donetsk Region refused to give Forum 18 any information or give a number of a relevant official at Investigation Prison No. 1. He claimed the prison has no telephones. A listed number for the prison was unreachable (see below).
Officials at the office of the Russian-appointed Human Rights Ombudsperson for Donetsk Darya Morozova did not answer the phone each time Forum 18 called (see below).
Russia banned Jehovah's Witnesses as "extremist" in 2017. It is imposing this ban on areas of Ukraine it has illegally occupied. Russian-controlled courts in occupied Crimea have already jailed Jehovah's Witnesses for continuing to meet for worship. Forum 18 is not aware of any prosecutions for this so far in other Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine (see below).
In a May report to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General António Guterres repeated earlier UN calls for Russia to respect freedom of religion or belief. "The occupying authorities of the Russian Federation continued to restrict the right to freedom of religion and belief for certain religious communities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," he declared (see below).
"No individual should be criminally charged or detained simply for practising their religion, including in the forms of collective worship and proselytizing, in accordance with international human rights law," Secretary-General Guterres insisted. "Religious groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine should enjoy access to their places of worship and be able to gather freely for prayer and other religious practices" (see below).
The official who answered the phone at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva promised to put Forum 18 through to an official who could give a response to Secretary-General Guterres' comments on violations of freedom of religion or belief in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. After Forum 18 waited on the line for several minutes the connection was cut. Subsequent calls went unanswered (see below).
Among the concerns UN Secretary-General Guterres raised was the 14-year jail term handed to Ukrainian Orthodox priest Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov from Tokmak in occupied Zaporizhzhia Region in August 2024. He is now in a labour camp in Russia's Saratov Region. On 27 June 2025, the Russian prison authorities transferred Fr Kostiantyn to a new strict-regime labour camp in the same Russian region (see below).
The Russian occupation authorities continue to raid places of worship, particularly those of the Council of Churches Baptists. Their congregations choose not to seek official registration in any country where they operate. They also refuse to notify the authorities of the start of their activity. Russian officials claim that their exercise of freedom of religion or belief – including meeting for worship or sharing their faith – is therefore illegal (see forthcoming F18News article).
Russian-controlled courts continue to impose punishments for meeting for worship or sharing faith without Russian permission. Courts are known to have punished for "missionary" activity at least 1 person in May, 1 in June, 3 in July and 2 so far in August. Under provisions punishing religious communities for failing to give their full, official name under Russian registration, courts are known to have punished at least 1 community in May and 2 in June (see forthcoming F18News article).
Russia's serious violations of freedom of religion or belief in occupied Ukraine
Russia seriously violates freedom of religion or belief and interlinked human rights in parts of Ukraine it illegally occupies (about a fifth of Ukraine's territory). Among such violations are:- illegal annexation of territory and imposition of Russian law violating human rights;
- pressuring, kidnapping, torturing, jailing, and murdering religious leaders;
- stopping meetings for worship, banning and closing religious communities;
- jailing prisoners of conscience for exercising freedom of religion or belief;
- transnational repression;
- banning religious texts and purging libraries;
- "anti-missionary" prosecutions; and
- the broadcasting of disinformation against religious communities and believers.
It is illegal under international law for Russia to enforce its own laws on occupied Ukrainian territory, as Russia is required to leave Ukrainian law in force.
Criminal case against Jehovah's Witness "leader"
Russia's Supreme Court, Moscow
Anton Naumliuk (RFE/RL)
Punishments under Russian Criminal Code Article 282.2, Part 2 are:
– two to six years' imprisonment, plus a possible ban on holding certain positions and/or carrying out certain activities for up to five years, and compulsory restrictions on freedom for up to one year after release;
- or a 300,000 to 600,000 Russian Rouble fine;
- or one to four years' assigned work and compulsory restrictions on freedom for up to one year, plus a possible ban on holding certain positions and/or carrying out certain activities for up to three years.
Since Russia's Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jehovah's Witness organisations in 2017 and outlawed their activities as "extremist", more than 800 people in Russia have faced prosecution under Criminal Code Article 282.2 for "organising" (Part 1), or "participating in" (Part 2) the activities of a banned "extremist" organisation.
The Russian occupation authorities have similarly prosecuted and jailed Jehovah's Witnesses from occupied Crimea. Forum 18 is not aware of any prosecutions so far in other Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
The investigators who opened the criminal case in Donetsk accuse the man of "deliberate activity directly linked to" Jehovah's Witnesses "on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic" between 26 September 2018 and 6 May 2023.
The Russian-controlled Voroshilov Inter-District Court in the city of Donetsk ordered that the man be held in pre-trial detention for two months. The announcement gave no date for the decision. The decision has entered legal force.
Forum 18 called the Russian-controlled Donetsk Investigative Committee on 28 August. The duty officer listened to Forum 18 identifying itself and outlining the case, then put the phone down. Subsequent calls went unanswered.
Officials at the office of the Russian-appointed Human Rights Ombudsperson for Donetsk Darya Morozova did not answer the phone each time Forum 18 called on 28 August.
It is unclear when the man was arrested and if he is being held in Investigation Prison No. 1 in Donetsk. An official at the Russian-controlled Prisons Administration for Donetsk Region refused to give Forum 18 any information on 28 August or give a number of a relevant official at Investigation Prison No. 1. He claimed the prison has no telephones. A listed number for the prison was unreachable.
The Russian occupation authorities have earlier announced criminal cases against individuals they claimed were Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the individuals were not Jehovah's Witnesses.
Further United Nations call to Russian occupation forces
Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov, Crimean Supreme Court
Religious Information Service of Ukraine
"The occupying authorities of the Russian Federation continued to restrict the right to freedom of religion and belief for certain religious communities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine," Guterres declared.
"All congregations of the Jehovah's Witnesses remained under a blanket prohibition." Guterres noted further criminal prosecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian-occupied Crimea. He also highlighted a fine on and stripping of registration from the Alushta Muslim community in Crimea. He noted the earlier detention of two Greek Catholic priests, as well as "the seizure of churches, and pressure from the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation to reregister Catholic communities under Russian legislation".
Secretary-General Guterres also mentioned the 14-year jail term handed to Ukrainian Orthodox priest Fr Kostiantyn Maksimov from Tokmak in occupied Zaporizhzhia Region in August 2024 and who is now in a labour camp in Russia's Saratov Region.
(On 27 June 2025, the Russian prison authorities transferred Fr Kostiantyn to a new strict-regime labour camp in the same Russian region. His new address:
410080 g. Saratov
Sokursky trakt d. 57
FKU Ispravitelnaya koloniya No. 10 UFSIN Rossii po Saratovskoi oblasti, Russian Federation)
"The priest had earlier been removed from his position in the church for refusing to pray for the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and criticizing priests who cooperated with the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation," Secretary-General Guterres noted. "He was arrested while attempting to leave the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and tried in secret proceedings."
"I urge the Russian Federation to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, association, thought, conscience and religion can be freely exercised by all individuals and groups living in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine without discrimination on any grounds or unjustified interference," Guterres insisted.
"No individual should be criminally charged or detained simply for practising their religion, including in the forms of collective worship and proselytizing, in accordance with international human rights law. Religious groups in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine should enjoy access to their places of worship and be able to gather freely for prayer and other religious practices."
The official who answered the phone at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva on 28 August promised to put Forum 18 through to an official who could give a response to Secretary-General Guterres' comments on violations of freedom of religion or belief in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. After Forum 18 waited on the line for several minutes the connection was cut. Subsequent calls went unanswered. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Occupied Ukraine
For background information, see Forum 18's Occupied Ukraine religious freedom survey
Follow us on Bluesky @Forum18
Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService
Follow us on Telegram @Forum18NewsService
Follow us on WhatsApp Forum 18
Follow us on X/Twitter @Forum_18
All Forum 18 material may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full, if Forum 18 is credited as the source.
All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen.
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.
Latest Analyses
Latest News
11 June 2025
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: "Bishop says no" on Ukrainian Orthodox entities
The Russian-controlled Justice Department requested an "expert conclusion" on a Brotherhood of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Russian-occupied Luhansk from Russia's Justice Ministry. Its Expert Council said the Brotherhood provided "deliberately false information that it operates as part of the Luhansk diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, that is, a structure that does not in reality exist". It cited Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Pantaleimon that "Luhansk Diocese does not support the creation on its canonical territory of Orthodox parishes, brotherhoods and other religious organisations" not part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
10 June 2025
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: Raids, registration pressure, places of worship deemed "ownerless"
A prosecutor and police in Russian-occupied Luhansk Region raided Krasnodon's Council of Churches Baptist congregation's Pentecost worship meeting on 8 June. "The main issue is the registration of the church!" Pastor Vladimir Rytikov noted. Asked if she could explain why Krasnodon Police raided the Church, the duty officer said only: "We can't." Occupation authorities threaten other Baptist congregations that meet without seeking permission. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Region administration lists a Greek Catholic Church – whose priest was expelled in 2022 – and a Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall as "ownerless".
4 June 2025
OCCUPIED UKRAINE: "Missionary" fines, "so-called religious services"
A court in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk fined Pastor Vladimir Rudomyotkin several days' average local wage on 23 May for alleged missionary activity. His Council of Churches Baptist congregation meets without seeking permission from officials. Two days earlier, another Donetsk court punished St Joseph Roman Catholic parish for allegedly failing to give its official full name "within the framework of missionary activity". An Enerhodar court fined an individual 3 weeks' average local wage for organising a community "where so-called religious services were held on Sundays".