Krasnodar Court Sentenced Disabled Jehovah's Witness to 2 Years in Penal Colony

On December 23, 2025, the Sovetskiy District Court of Krasnodar convicted Anatoliy Yevtushenko, 54. Although disabled and having recently undergone hip replacement surgery, he will serve his sentence in a penal colony. He was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Anatoliy was prosecuted following his friend Aleksey Lelikov. In January 2022, their homes were searched. In July 2024, the FSB charged Yevtushenko with extremism. Due to the recognizance agreement, the believer could not go to St. Petersburg for the surgery, which he really needed, because he experienced constant pain due to bilateral coxarthrosis. He was able to receive the necessary treatment only in February 2025, when court hearings had already began. Anatoliy is grateful for the material support of his friends and fellow believers, as he has not been able to work lately. "If it were not for the help of my brothers and sisters, there would have been no operation," he recalls. "Thanks to them for such love and care. It's so touching that I can't hold back my tears."

In addition to court hearings and their own health problems, Anatoliy and his wife cared for his elderly mother until her death in November 2025. The 85-year-old needed constant care — she could not get out of bed, could not see and suffered from dementia. Shortly before Anatoliy's surgery, his wife broke her leg. The believer was allowed to travel daily from Krasnodar to the village 100 kilometers away to take care of the women.

Despite his own difficulties, Anatoliy sought to support his fellow believers, who also ended up in the dock for their faith. He attended court hearings in criminal cases in Krasnodar and Goryachy Klyuch, drove the defendants and their relatives there, and later went to the village of Vyselki to help believers there too. "If you invest love, you receive double the love. You reinvest that love again, you quadruple it. And on to infinity, because love has no limits," the believer said.

The criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia does not exclude even seriously ill people: at least 30 believers with disabilities have gone through and are still going through the exhausting stages of investigative measures and trials.