Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

Five More Jehovah’s Witnesses from Uyar Detained

Krasnoyarsk Territory

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, law enforcement officers detained Uyar residents Sergey Soroka, Ivan Starikov, and Aleksandr Murlin. They were placed in a pretrial detention center 2 days later. On Thursday, two more believers — Aleksandr and Zakhar Vakarev, father and son — were detained at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. The FSB had declared them wanted the day before.

Cases involving Jehovah's Witnesses in Uyar are being handled by Aleksandra Tkachenko, an investigator with the local branch of the Investigative Committee for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia. A few months earlier, she had authorized the arrests of two other Uyar residents — Viktor Kononov and Aflatun Safarov.

The Case of Kononov and Others in Uyar

Case History
In October 2025, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against residents of the Uyarskiy and Rybinskiy districts of Krasnoyarsk Territory. The investigation interpreted peaceful meetings for worship as organizing the activity of an extremist organization, participating in it, and involving others in it. Searches were conducted in the homes of the believers. Viktor Kononov and Aflatun Safarov were placed in custody; two elderly women—Amaliya Malchugova and Tatyana Barakhtenko—were required to sign a recognizance agreement. In February 2026, Sergey Soroka, Aleksandr Murlin, and Ivan Starikov were placed in a pretrial detention center. On the same day, Aleksandr and Zakhar Vakarev were detained at a Moscow airport and subsequently required to sign a recognizance agreement. All the believers held in custody were later transferred to house arrest, and then to a ban on certain actions.
Timeline

Persons in case

Murlin
Aleksandr
Барахтенко
Татьяна
Malchugova
Amaliya
Soroka
Sergey
Vakarev
Aleksandr
Vakarev
Zakhar
Starikov
Ivan
Kononov
Viktor
Safarov
Aflatun

Criminal case

Region:
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Locality:
Uyar
Suspected of:
"Organized and ensured the arrangement of the meeting... conducted educational debates based on the studied materials" (from the decision to initiate criminal case)
Court case number:
12502040043000057
Initiated:
October 23, 2025
Current case stage:
preliminary investigation
Investigating:
Uyarskiy Interdistrict Investigative Department of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (2), 282.2 (1.1), 282.2 (1)
Case History
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