The Odintsovo City Court in Moscow region sentenced Alexander Paisov, a 64-year-old resident of Zvenigorod, to two years in a penal colony on October 20 after finding him guilty of participating in the activities of an extremist organization. The criminal case concerns his religious activities as a Jehovah's Witness.
The verdict was reported by the Jehovah's Witnesses' press service in Russia. Paisov was convicted under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code.
According to the religious organization, the prosecution stemmed from discussions of the Bible with a man who was allegedly an undercover security service operative.
The criminal case was opened in December 2025. Following searches at several addresses, Paisov was detained and transferred to a pretrial detention center in Volokolamsk. By the time the verdict was delivered, he had spent approximately ten months in custody.
In his final statement to the court, Paisov said he posed no danger to society and wanted to return to his family. He said he had cared for his elderly mother, who has a Group II disability classification, for 20 years. His detention deprived her of his daily assistance.
The Jehovah's Witnesses' press service said the defense had asked the court to return the case to prosecutors. Among the arguments cited were findings by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which had previously criticized the prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. The court rejected the motion.
According to the organization's own figures, 35 Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow and Moscow region have faced criminal prosecution. Eighteen received prison sentences, while four women were sentenced to compulsory labor.
In 2017, Russia's Supreme Court declared the country's Jehovah's Witness legal entities extremist and ordered their liquidation. Since then, believers have faced widespread criminal prosecution for activities that Russian authorities characterize as a continuation of the banned organizations' work.
In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the dissolution of Jehovah's Witness organizations and the related measures violated believers' rights.
Paisov's sentence has not yet entered into legal force. Information about the circumstances of his religious activity and the proceedings is based on reports from the organization itself; the complete case file has not been publicly examined.