Crimean political prisoner Igor Schmidt was released after six years in prison

Crimean political prisoner Igor Schmidt was released after six years of unlawful detention in Russian penal colonies and pretrial detention centers. The 54-year-old Sevastopol resident was persecuted for his religious beliefs and participation in the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses community.

This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Prior to his imprisonment, Igor Schmidt attended worship services where believers read and discussed the Bible, sang religious songs, and prayed. For participating in the congregation’s religious life, the occupying authorities accused him of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. 

According to Igor Schmidt, his time in prison has been a serious ordeal for him. He spoke about the difficulties of living without his usual comforts and support network. 

“All my plans have been disrupted, and I’ve had to adapt,” he noted.

Igor Schmidt noted that he received letters of support from fellow believers in various countries throughout his time in detention. According to him, on one occasion, the head of the detention center’s operations department brought him a large package of letters and said he wanted to personally meet the “celebrity” to whom people were writing from all over the world.

In total, more than 38 “Jehovah’s Witnesses” have already faced criminal prosecution under extremism charges in Crimea. Of these, 15 people have been sentenced to six or more years in prison.

Earlier, Roman political prisonerVolodymyr Maladyka was released. He spent six years in prison. He was convicted in October 2022 for participating in the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” religious community, which Russia banned in 2017.

Юлія Калабайда