Kamchatka resident Sergey Ledenyov was sentenced to two years of probation for speaking about the moral value of the Bible

On November 24, 2020, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court found the believer guilty of activity of extremist organization but reclassified his actions from part 1 (organization) to part 2 (participation) of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. He was appointed two years conditionally with a probation period of three years. The prosecutor demanded six years of the penal colony.

The sentence did not come into force. Sergey Ledenyov did not plead guilty and intends to appeal the decision. "My conscience is pure before God and people," he said in his last word to Judge Natalia Lychkova. "When a person commits a real crime, he is expected to repent in the last word. I still can't understand what I need to repent. That I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses? In other words, that I deeply believe in Jehovah and tell others about him? Or that we gathered together with friends? What exactly is my crime? The entire investigation has proven that the worship meetings that I am accused of are purely peaceful, legal, non-hazardous religious activity, which was not banned by any court."

The criminal prosecution of Sergey Ledenyov lasts almost 2 years. Searches in houses of believers were conducted in December 2018. He was charged with organizing the activities of a banned organization for discussing the Bible with other people. A year later, in 2019, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky City Court found many violations in the case and returned it to the prosecutor, but the supervisory authority finally insisted that the case be considered in court.

Law scholars and human rights activists both in Russia and abroad unanimously condemn the authorities' actions against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.