One of Jehovah's Witnesses from Crimea Becomes Defendant in Criminal Case for His Faith After His Father

On August 10, 2026, law enforcement officers detained Iliya Chertov, a 28-year-old believer, at Sochi Airport. A few days later, he was taken to Simferopol. There he learned that a criminal case had been initiated against him under an article for extremism.

During his detention, they seized Chertov's phone without drawing up a protocol. Later, the young man was charged with a fabricated administrative offense, and the court sentenced him to 3 days of administrative arrest. A copy of the court ruling was initially given to him but was then taken away. After he was detained, the believer was not given food for 1.5 days.

On August 18, 2026, Captain of Justice A. A. Kirov, senior investigator of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, initiated a case against Iliya Chertov for organizing the activity of an extremist organization. He is also handling the case of Iliya's father, Vladimir Chertov, who is being prosecuted under the same article. On August 20, Iliya was charged; the next day, the court placed the believer under house arrest.