On April 19, 2022, the Neftekumskiy District Court of the Stavropol Territory convicted Aleksandr, Konstantin, and Shamil. Aleksandr and Shamil were each fined 500,000 rubles ($6,055 U.S.). Their fines will not have to be paid due to the time they have spent in pretrial detention. Konstantin was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He was immediately taken into custody.

Aleksandr Akopov

• Born: 1992 (Neftekumsk)

• Biography: Works in construction with his father and older brother. Enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and tennis, spending time in nature, and cooking

  Was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2007 at the age of 14

Konstantin Samsonov

• Born: 1977 (Neftekumsk)

• Biography: Interested in chess and computer technology as a youth. Currently works as a systems engineer in a hospital. He and his wife, Svetlana, started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1998. They were baptized in 2000. They have one son

Shamil Sultanov

• Born: 1977 (Mahmud-Mekteb, Stavropol Territory)

• Biography: Maintains and repairs buildings. Studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses in the early 2000’s. Baptized in 2003. Married his wife, Elena, in 2004. He helped to raise her son from a previous marriage

On Saturday, August 26, 2017, armed police officers surrounded 18 of Jehovah’s Witnesses who were vacationing at a lake near Neftekumsk. The group, which included children and elderly ones, was taken by bus to a police station and interrogated for three hours. Afterward, many brothers and sisters in Neftekumsk were put under surveillance and had their homes searched. Aleksandr, Konstantin, and Shamil were subsequently detained and spent almost a full year in pretrial detention.

Aleksandr admits that he feared imprisonment because he deals with anxiety and has health problems. He supplicated Jehovah for the mental and emotional strength to endure prison. “Often there were situations when I told Jehovah that I could not go on,” recalls Aleksandr. “I cannot believe that I was able to endure [nearly] a year in the detention center.” Jehovah answered his prayers by helping him to recall Bible verses when he did not have access to a Bible. He wrote down every verse he could recall, reviewed one verse every morning, and thought about ways it could help him in his situation. This enabled him to see his detention through Jehovah’s eyes.

Konstantin’s courage was buoyed by the many letters his wife wrote to him. In one letter, he recalls, his wife suggested that he consider his trials as adventures. “That amused me, and later things really did become a bit easier,” relates Konstantin.

Shamil says that the first few months in the pretrial detention center were the most difficult. “Things became easier over time,” recalls Shamil. “This was proof that I had not been abandoned.” During this time, he learned to show trust in Jehovah by not worrying too much about future trials.

All three brothers are under travel restrictions and cannot use the phone or Internet. These limitations make it difficult for Aleksandr to get needed medical care and prevent Konstantin from doing his work as a computer programmer. Despite these challenges, the brothers are determined to stay faithful to their God.

We know that Jehovah will bless these brothers as they continue to rely on him.—Psalm 20:7.