Aleksey Shcherbich and his wife Natalya
Aleksey Shcherbich and his wife Natalya
Court in Neftekumsk Fined One of Jehovah's Witnesses 300,000 Rubles. He Was Released
Stavropol TerritoryOn May 27, 2025, the Neftekumskiy District Court of the Stavropol Territory fined 53-year-old Aleksey Shcherbich 300,000 rubles for holding peaceful meetings for worship.
Aleksey has been prosecuted for his faith for almost 7 years, since 2018. He was arrested not immediately, but 5.5 years after the start of the criminal prosecution. Up until the verdict was announced, he had spent almost 1 year behind bars in several pretrial detention centers. In one of them, Aleksey was put in a basement cell. "The conditions there are very oppressive. It was hard," the believer said, and added what cheered him up: "Before going to bed, I prayed fervently and a few minutes later I heard the whisper of one of my cellmates. He called me by name, said that he knew Jehovah's Witnesses well and had previously been in close contact with us." Aleksey's Christian behavior impressed the other prisoners of this detention center so much that they saw him off with tears, wishing him a speedy release.
As Natalya, Aleksey's wife, said, being separated was the most difficult for them. "We are very close. Having lived together for more than 30 years, we have never been apart for so long," Natalya said.
Aleksey's wife expressed gratitude for the active support shown to her family by friends, acquaintances and other caring people. "I live in a village several hundred kilometers from the pretrial detention center. Public transport is often canceled. But thanks to the responsiveness of those who have a car, it was possible to go to the detention center to pass on food or other things to Lyosha (editor's note: Lyosha is a diminutive form of Aleksey). Sometimes friends made up parcels themselves: they looked for quality products, stood in line at the pretrial detention center, filled out the forms necessary for the transfer, and, of course, fervently prayed for Lyosha, and also wrote him letters of support," Natalya said.
During the criminal prosecution of her husband, Natalya's health noticeably weakened. But caring for others helped to fight despondency; she said: "I don't allow myself to focus on my problems, so I often call others, send voice messages, pray for them and with them. And when I have time and energy, I try to visit someone in person."
Aleksey and Natalya have been Jehovah's Witnesses since the early 2000s. For about 20 years, the state had no complaints about their beliefs, which have not changed since then. However, the prosecution demanded that the court send Aleksey to a penal colony for 8 years.
Jehovah's Witnesses from Neftekumsk were first prosecuted back in 2017, just a month after the decision to liquidate the legal entities of this denomination came into force. Then the law enforcement officers raided the believers during a picnic. Soon the FSB initiated a criminal case, as a result of which three believers were sentenced to large fines.
