Court in Kurgan Imposes Large Fine on Sergey Skudaev for Talking About God

On April 3, 2025, by decision of the Kurgan City Court of the Kurgan Region, Jehovah's Witness Sergey Skudaev, 46, was found guilty of extremism. Judge Yevgeniy Kolesov imposed a fine of 650,000 rubles on him for holding meetings for worship via videoconferencing.

Sergey first encountered persecution on religious grounds in the summer of 2021. Then the believer began to notice that he was being followed. On July 13 of the same year, the Department of the Investigative Committee for the Kurgan Region opened a criminal case against him under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The very next day, law enforcement officers searched his apartment, garage and country house, and then the man was detained. By court decision, he was sent to a pre-trial detention center for four months. Later, the man was placed under a ban on certain actions instead.

Sergey says: "When the court decided to send me to a pre-trial detention center, I was confused and there was a feeling of fear and uncertainty about the unknown and a sharp turn in my life. Life behind bars is a fairly serious test of strength, but the most difficult is separation from relatives. In prison, over time, you can adapt to many things, but it is really very painful to adapt to the fact that you do not have your beloved family and relatives next to you -- it is really very painful -- it is impossible to adapt." The believer is grateful for the support from the couple Irina and friends at that difficult time.

The investigation against Sergey Skudaev lasted almost two years. On June 13, 2023, his case went to court. The accusation was based on the testimony of secret witnesses. Skudaev said after their speech at one of the hearings: "These witnesses are fictitious characters, and all these testimonies were invented, and the role of those whom we heard on the conference call was played by straw men." Also, the judge at the sessions repeatedly interrupted the defendant during the examination of written evidence, and the prosecution read out 23 volumes of the case materials only superficially.

To date, eight Jehovah's Witnesses have faced persecution for their faith in God in the region, two of whom have been sentenced to pay large fines.