Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Two Women from Crimea Charged for Extremism for Their Faith. Case Initiated Against Them and Both Under House Arrest

Crimea

On December 11, 2025, two women practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses were detained in Saky, Crimea. Their homes were searched; a criminal case was initiated. Yelena Ivashina, 50, and Olga Podlesnaya, 54, were placed under house arrest by the Kievskiy District Court of the city of Simferopol.

Their case has been separated from Voronchikhin's case, which is currently being heard in the Simferopolskiy District Court. According to available information, Ivashina has already been charged with financing the activity of an extremist organization.

Now, 33 more Jehovah's Witnesses from Crimea have been prosecuted. Twelve of them are serving sentences in penal colonies, one in prison, and another in forced labor.

The Case of Podlesnaya in Simferopol

Case History
In late November 2025, the investigative authorities of Simferopol opened a criminal case against Crimea resident Olga Podlesnaya — it had been separated into an independent proceeding from the case of another Jehovah's Witness, Aleksandr Voronchikhin. In December, a search was conducted at the believer's home, after which she was interrogated and placed in a temporary detention facility (IVS). She was accused of financing the activities of an extremist organization. The court placed her under house arrest.
Timeline

Persons in case

Podlesnaya
Olga

Criminal case

Region:
Crimea
Locality:
Simferopol
Suspected of:
“transferring funds as donations” (from the decision to initiate the criminal case)
Court case number:
12502350020000210
Initiated:
December 27, 2025
Current case stage:
review of case materials by the accused
Investigating:
The First Investigative Division of the Directorate for Investigating Particularly Important Cases of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.3 (1), 282.2 (2)
Case History
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