Archive · 14 Nov 2025
Russia Jails Two Elderly Jehovah’s Witnesses on Spy Testimony
Imagine a group called Jehovah's Witnesses that a country doesn't like, calling them 'extremists'.
This country has a secret police force that sends spies to pretend they want to learn about the group's religion.
These spies go to the group's meetings for a long time, record what people say, and then tell the government so that members can be arrested.
Recently, two older men from this group, who are 74 years old, were put in jail for three years because a spy told the government they did something wrong.
This spy used a fake name.
The group says this is how they catch many of their members.
It's sad because these men were just practicing their religion.
Two 74-year-old Jehovah's Witnesses, Valeriy Knyazev and Indus Talipov, were sentenced to three years in prison in Russia.
The conviction was based on testimony provided by a secret FSB informant using the pseudonym Lozhkin.
Jehovah's Witnesses were declared an 'extremist organisation' and banned in Russia in 2017.
Since the ban, nearly 900 members of the faith group have been prosecuted in Russia and Russia-annexed Crimea.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses group states that at least 30 prosecutions have relied on testimony from such undercover agents.
- Who
- Two 74-year-old Jehovah's Witnesses, Valeriy Knyazev and Indus Talipov.
- What
- Sentenced to three years in prison each, based on testimony from an FSB informant.
- When
- This week.
- Where
- Izhevsk, Russia.
- Why
- Jehovah's Witnesses were banned as an 'extremist organisation' in Russia in 2017, leading to prosecutions.
- Defendants
- Valeriy Knyazev and Indus Talipov
- Age of Defendants
- 74
- Location
- Izhevsk, Russia
- Sentence
- 3 years imprisonment each
- Basis of Conviction
- Testimony from an FSB informant (pseudonym Lozhkin)
- Total Jailed Jehovah's Witnesses
- 175 (including Russia-annexed Crimea)
- Jehovah's Witnesses Prosecuted Since 2017 Ban
- Nearly 900