Severely Ill Jehovah's Witness Aleksandr Seredkin Released From Penal Colony

On December 25, 2025, the Rubtsovskiy District Court ruled to release Aleksandr Seredkin from the penal colony early but did not remove his additional punishment. He was released on the same day. He spent more than 3 years behind bars for his faith, including 2 years under strict conditions of detention.

Over the past few months, the health of the 71-year-old Jehovah's Witness from Novosibirsk deteriorated: he was tormented by pain, hypotension, and he practically could not digest food. In the fall, the believer was sent for several examinations, which revealed that he had stage II cancer, and he could not receive appropriate treatment behind bars. Further examination showed that his condition was even more serious — stage IV cancer. The medical team recommended he should undergo surgery promptly.

"Aleksandr has lost a lot of weight. Being 1,70m tall, he only weighs 59 kilograms. But he is calm, says that he is not afraid and fully relies on God," said the believer's lawyer. "He understands that quick action is needed and treatment can't be delayed."

In November 2022, the court sentenced Aleksandr to 6 years in a penal colony with deprivation of the right to engage in organizational activity in public or religious associations or organizations for a period of 5 years and 1 year restriction of freedom.

"It is commendable that the court has now shown mercy and released Aleksandr. But if he hadn't been unfairly convicted, could he perhaps have received help much earlier? The circumstances are very difficult for dozens of believers with disabilities in penal colonies and pretrial detention centers. Their life and health are under serious threat," Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, commented on the situation.

For example, Andrey Vlasov cannot take care of himself in places of detention; he needs constant help and medical care. Boris Andreyev and Yevgeniy Stefanidin suffer from cancer. In total, about 80 people with dangerously poor health have already been prosecuted, 34 of them have disabilities. Several people in this category died during the prosecution or shortly after the verdict was announced.