Case History
In January 2020, Tatyana Obizhestvit hosted guests at her home. Suddenly, law enforcement officers rushed in and searched her home. Then 15 people were taken for interrogation. Among them were two women over 80 years old and two children. A criminal case was initiated against Tatyana, as well as Andrey and Leysan Bochkarev under an article against extremism only because they believe in Jehovah God. The believers spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility, after which the women were placed under house arrest, and Andrey was placed in a pretrial detention center. In April 2021, the case went to court. Two secret witnesses testified in the case: one posing as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the other claiming that he had been “offered to join the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” In February 2023, Tatyana Obizhestvit and Leysan Bochkareva received suspended sentences of 2 and 2.5 years, respectively. Andrey Bochkarev was sentenced to 3 years and 1 month in a penal colony, but was released in the courtroom, since he actually served this term in a pretrial detention center. The courts of appeal and cassation upheld this decision.