Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Five Believers Arrested After Raid Against Jehovah's Witnesses in Saratov

Saratov Region

On September 3 and 4, 2025, law enforcement officers conducted searches at least five addresses of Jehovah's Witnesses in Saratov and the village of Anastasino. As part of the new criminal case, five believers aged 29 to 58 were detained.

The raid began at about 6 pm. Law enforcement officers broke into the family of one believer at 1:30 a.m. The Criminal Procedure Code allows a search at night only in the presence of urgent circumstances, but in this case the court allowed it to be carried out at the end of August. FSB officers seized electronic devices and storage media, as well as personal records.

After the searches, law enforcement officers took Mikhail Proshenkov, Aleksey Kazakov, Aleksandr Ayelin, Philip Obmysh and Sergey Yefremov for questioning. The wives and children of the believers were also interrogated. On Friday, September 5, the Frunzenskiy District Court sent Yefremov under house arrest, and the rest of the detainees in a pre-trial detention center.

In the Saratov Region, 20 of Jehovah's Witnesses have already faced persecution for their faith: seven of them received prison sentences, and three—Felix Makhammadiyev, Konstantin Bazhenov, and Rustam Seidkuliev—were deprived of their citizenship and expelled from the country.

Case of Proshenkov and Others in Saratov

Case History
In February 2025, the FSB Directorate for the Saratov Region initiated a criminal case on participation in the activities of an organization recognized as extremist. This is how the investigation interprets the holding of peaceful meetings for worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In September of the same year, searches were carried out at the homes of several believers in Saratov and the village of Anastasino. The court sent Mikhail Proshenkov, Aleksey Kazakov, Aleksandr Akelin and Philip Ombysh to a pre-trial detention center, and Sergey Yefremov to house arrest.
Timeline

Persons in case

Kazakov
Aleksey
Ombysh
Filipp
Proshenkov
Mikhail
Yefremov
Sergey

Criminal case

Region:
Saratov Region
Locality:
Saratov
Suspected of:
"resumed and organized the activity of a local religious unit on the territory of Saratov, which was expressed in the convening of meetings, the implementation of preaching activities" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case)
Court case number:
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
Investigative Department of the FSB Directorate of Russia for the Saratov Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Case History
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