After 447 days in pretrial detention, on October 18, 2019, Brother Dmitriy Barmakin was transferred to house arrest and reunited with his wife of 13 years, Yelena.

Brother Barmakin was arrested on July 28, 2018, when armed and masked law-enforcement officers broke into the home of his wife’s 90-year-old grandmother whom he was visiting. Brother Barmakin was accused of participating in the religious services of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Pervorechenskiy District Court of Vladivostok ordered that Dmitriy Barmakin be placed in pretrial detention for two months. Subsequently, the court extended his detention term an additional eight times.

During one of his pretrial detention hearings, the court described Brother Barmakin’s peaceful worship as a “crime against the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the state.” This spurious charge runs counter to what is clearly stated in Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation that all can “freely choose, have, and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them.”

We are pleased that Judge Stanislav Salnikov of the Pervorechenskiy District Court of Vladivostok ordered Brother Barmakin’s release from jail, although this does not nullify the criminal investigation against him.

We trust that Jehovah will continue to strengthen and encourage our Russian brothers and sisters, especially those in prison and under house arrest. Such ones, like Brother Barmakin, have proven to be fine examples of courage and faithfulness to the worldwide brotherhood.—Philippians 1:13, 14.