Dmitrii Semenov
- Criminal Code
- Article 282.2 part 1.1, Russian Criminal Code
- Case category
- Extremism casesCases against Jehovah's Witnesses
- Verdict
- Suspended prison sentence, Restriction of liberty
- Sentence
- 4 years
- Date of verdict
- 2022-11-08
- Region
- Kamchatka Krai
- City
- Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Recognition by human rights organisations
- Recognised as persecuted for exercising freedom of religionby Memorial: Support for Political Prisoners
This is the assessment of the organisation named above, not ours. FACTUM reports it with attribution and does not make its own.
Case summary
Resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In September 2021, he was searched and a criminal case was opened against him and his wife for activities of an extremist organisation in connection with involvement in the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses community. They both signed recognisance not to leave,
Representatives of this community are prosecuted under extremist articles solely because of their religious activities - holding meetings and worship services and attracting new supporters.
In June 2022, the case of the spouses went to court. The prosecution was built on the testimony of a woman who expressed a desire to study the Bible with the Semenovs, and subsequently began to cooperate with the FSB. In November 2022, the court sentenced Dmitry and Nadezhda to a 4-year suspended sentence for talking about the Bible. The appeal left the sentence unchanged.
Others charged under Article 282.2 part 1.1, Russian Criminal Code
What we write about political persecution
Recent material from this section. This is section navigation — the articles below are not about this person.
- 2026-09-04Georgia court clears extradition of Fugal ally to Russia
- 2026-09-04Russia labels Novaya Gazeta a 'foreign agent,' adds over 100 affiliated names
- 2026-09-04Russian court sentences hostage-takers from Rostov detention center to up to 29 years
- 2026-09-04Two Yabloko Duma candidates detained in Moscow two days before vote
- 2026-09-03British man says Russian police beat him, jumped on his head at station in Yessentuki
Source: this person’s record in the OVD-Info political persecution database
Published under CC BY 3.0. The criteria for treating a person as politically persecuted belong to OVD-Info; FACTUM relays their assessment and makes none of its own.
OVD-Info has been designated an «extremist» organisation in Russia — by decision of the Russian authorities, like other independent human rights and media projects.