On December 8, 2023, the Judicial Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tatarstan, during the retrial of the case of Konstantin Sannikov, approved the initial sentence for the believer—6.5 years in prison. He will remain in the penal colony.
In June 2023, the Court of Appeal lifted Sannikov's additional sentence of restriction of liberty for a period of 1 year, imposed by the district court. The prosecutor appealed this decision in October 2023, and the Sixth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction in Samara returned Sannikov's case for a second appeal hearing in a different composition. In court, the believer said, "My imprisonment is religious persecution."
For the period between the cassation and the second appeal, the believer was transferred from the penal colony to the pre-trial detention center.
Konstantin Sannikov has been imprisoned since August 2020. He has already spent 2 years and 9 months in a pre-trial detention center and 6 months in a penal colony. His detention had a negative impact on his health, and in the penal colony he lost a lot of weight due to malnutrition. Despite this, the believer maintains a positive attitude and good relations with others. There are still about 2 years left before the expiration of his sentence.
