Vladimir Skachidub's Verdict of Four-Years-and-Two Months in Prison for Believing in Jehovah God Was Upheld Despite an Appeal Filed in Krasnodar

On April 20, 2022, the Krasnodar Regional Court upheld the sentence of Vladimir Skachidub, a 60-year-old Jehovah's Witness from the village of Kholmskaya. The believer will have to spend more than 4 years behind bars.

On October 11, 2021, the judge of the Pavlovskiy District Court of the Krasnodar Territory, Olga Marchenko, convicted Vladimir Skachidub under two extremist articles, finding him guilty of participation in the activities of a banned organization and involvement in it. Since then, Vladimir, a group III disabled person, has been kept in a pre-trial detention center. According to the investigation and the court, his fault lies in the fact that he shared his beliefs with acquaintances and did not renounce them when the legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses were liquidated in 2017.

The verdict has entered into force. The believer still insists on his innocence. He has the right to appeal the verdict in cassation.

In total, 16 criminal cases were initiated in the Krasnodar Territory against 25 believers. 12 of them have already been convicted and received real prison terms. The most severe punishment - 7.5 years in prison - was received by a resident of the village of Kholmskaya Aleksandr Ivshin.