Case History
In October 2021, in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, security forces searched the homes of peaceful Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were charged with extremism only because of practising their religion. Igor Kletkin and Vladislav Markov spent 2 days in a temporary detention facility. The investigator initiated a criminal case against them, as well as against Nadezhda Korobochko, for participating in the activity of an extremist organization. The indictment was based on information gathered from surveillance, covert audio recordings of believers’ conversations, conflicting testimony from a secret witness, and falsified testimony from other witnesses. The case went to court in December 2022. In July 2024, the court gave Kononenko, Kletkin and Korobochko suspended sentences: the men received 6 years each, Nadezhda Korobochko — 5 years.