On February 14, 2020, the Vilyuchinsk City Court convicted Brother Mikhail Popov and his wife, Sister Yelena Popova. The court fined them 350,000 rubles ($5,508 U.S.) and 300,000 rubles ($4,722 U.S.), respectively, but did not sentence them to any prison time. They will both appeal their convictions.

Mikhail and Yelena were arrested in July 2018. Shortly afterward, they were released to await trial.

Since 2019, Russian courts have convicted 28 Jehovah’s Witnesses for their faith. Ten of these brothers and sisters were convicted in just the last two months. However, these ten are not currently imprisoned.