On December 5, 2023, the Surgut City Court of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area—Yugra convicted 17 brothers and one sister. Among them are Brothers Yevgeniy Fedin, Artur Severinchik, and Timofey Zhukov. The 17 brothers received suspended prison sentences ranging from six years and three months to seven years. The sister received a suspended prison sentence of three years and three months. They are not required to go to prison at this time.

1. February 15, 2019

   Police officers searched numerous homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Surgut and nearby cities. Seven brothers reported being tortured during interrogation. Three brothers were placed in pretrial detention, including Yevgeniy Fedin and Artur Severinchik

2. March 7, 2019

   An appeals court ordered Artur to be released from pretrial detention after 21 days

3. April 11, 2019

   Yevgeniy was released from pretrial detention after nearly two months. The court imposed restrictions on his travel, communication, and Internet use

4. January 16, 2020

   A judge ordered that Brother Timofey Zhukov report to a psychiatric hospital to undergo an examination. Investigators cited as a reason his refusal to answer questions during an interrogation, a right which is protected under Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Timofey subsequently appealed the order

5. February 5, 2020

   Police arrested Timofey as he was leaving the courthouse. Although his appeal of the court order was pending, officers drove him some 1,200 kilometers (746 mi) to a psychiatric hospital in Yekaterinburg, where he remained for 14 days

6. March 5, 2020

   An appeals court ruled that Timofey’s confinement was unlawful

7. October 19, 2021

   The appeals court ordered that Timofey be compensated for his unlawful detention

8. November 12, 2021

   During a preliminary hearing, defense lawyers presented evidence of illegal and unethical actions taken by authorities, including torture, falsifying evidence, and use of biased experts. The defendants asked the court to return the case to the prosecutor

9. November 15, 2021

   A judge acknowledged that parts of the investigation violated the law, but declined to return the case to the prosecutor

We are confident that Jehovah will continue to be with Yevgeniy, Artur, Timofey, and all of the brothers and sisters who are ‘keeping their eyes on the things unseen’ as they endure persecution.—2 Corinthians 4:17, 18.