Another Guilty Verdict Against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Court Sent Man to Penal Colony for 6 Years, and Fined Woman

On April 29, 2025, Yevgeniy Zadvornyy, judge of the Lesosibirsk City Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, issued a decision in the case of Andrey Shiyan and Anna Matveeva: 6 years and 1 month in a penal colony and a fine of 400,000 rubles, respectively. Andrey was taken into custody in the courtroom.

Andrey and Anna first faced criminal prosecution in November 2021. Then the law enforcement officers raided and searched their homes as part of the criminal case against another believer from Lesosibirsk, Valeriy Shitz. Later, in January 2023, Artem Kunko, a senior investigator of the Lesosibirsk Investigation Department of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia, initiated criminal cases against Shiyan and Matveeva. After some time, Shiyan's house was searched again, during which he fell ill and an ambulance was called twice for him; after the interrogation on the next day, he was taken to the hospital.

Andrey and Anna were placed under recognizance agreements. The preliminary investigation of their cases was conducted separately, but in December 2023, the court decided to combine them into one proceeding. Shiyan was charged with organizing the activity of an extremist organization, and Matveeva was charged with participating in it. She was charged with discussing the Bible with friends in her own apartment, and he was charged with reading and commenting on religious texts. The trial lasted for a year. The charges were based on hidden video recordings of meetings for worship and conversations about the Bible, made by a woman who pretended to be interested in the Bible.

Andrey Shiyan, 55, commented on the charges against him: "I am wrongfully charged because I did not renounce my religion, but continued to practice it with other believers... It is not clear to me on the basis of what authority the state prosecutor extrajudicially banned the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses."

Anna Matveeva, 48, is a teacher with many years of experience and respected by her colleagues. Speaking at one of the hearings, she noted: "They say that I tried to convince the secret witness of the superiority of Jehovah's Witnesses over other people, but my words, contained in the case materials, make such accusations groundless: 'We are not better than other people, but are just like them... Our goal is to live up to high Bible standards"... I am charged because of influencing a secret witness with expressions of love and commendation."

In total, 31 Jehovah's Witnesses were prosecuted in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, including 3 women. So far 12 believers have already been convicted; 5 men received prison sentences of 6 years or more.