On December 23, 2020, the Kemerovo Regional Court denied the appeal of Brother Khasan Kogut. His original two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence will now go into force. He does not have to go to prison at this time.

Although Khasan is disappointed that this criminal conviction tarnishes his record as a citizen, he gains comfort in knowing that he has kept his integrity and has Jehovah’s approval. Khasan and his wife, Yekaterina, along with their eight-year-old son, Timofey, are determined to continue serving Jehovah as a family.

In his final words to the court on September 10, 2020, Khasan boldly stated: “I will not give up my faith in Jehovah God, and I consider the attempt to coerce me to do this to be a crime! These are my strong beliefs. In whatever circumstances I find myself, ‘neither death nor life nor angels nor governments nor things now here nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God’s love.’”—Romans 8:38, 39.