Detention: On June 4, 2019, in occupied Sevastopol, Russian security forces conducted simultaneous searches in at least nine homes of local followers of the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses. During these searches, Viktor Stashevskyi was detained. The next day, he was released from the detention center under a travel restriction. On May 31, 2019, prior to the searches, an FSB investigator initiated a criminal case against him under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code for 'organizing the activities of an extremist organization.' The charges were solely related to his religious activities as a Jehovah's Witness. The case included testimony from a secret witness.

Sentence: On March 29, 2021, the Gagarinsky District Court of Sevastopol, under the control of the Russian occupation authorities, found Viktor Stashevskyi guilty under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code and sentenced him to 6 years and 6 months in a general regime colony. The court also prohibited him from engaging in educational activities, public speaking, and publications for 7 years, and imposed a 1-year restriction of freedom after his release.

On the same day, Viktor Stashevskyi was taken into custody directly in the courtroom. On August 10, 2021, the occupation Sevastopol City Court upheld the sentence.

Viktor Volodymyrovych Stashevskyi was born on July 11, 1966, in the city of Kansk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. He has a twin brother. In 1967, the family moved first to Vilnius and later to Feodosia in Crimea. His father worked as an emergency doctor, and his mother in an airline. As a child, Viktor was interested in gliding.

In 1983, he moved to Sevastopol, where he enrolled in the P. S. Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School. After graduation, he served in the navy. Until 1993, he served in the city of Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast.

In 1996, Viktor met his future wife Larisa. The couple married in 2002 and raised two daughters. According to the Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Viktor also cared for his elderly mother.

Viktor came to religious life through a personal interest in questions of the origin and structure of the universe. He began studying the Bible independently, after which he became a follower of Jehovah's Witnesses. Not all his relatives shared his religious beliefs, but they opposed the criminal prosecution of Viktor for his faith.

After the occupation of Crimea, Russian authorities extended Russian legislation banning Jehovah's Witnesses to the peninsula. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia declared the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses extremist and banned the activities of its legal entities. In practice, this became a basis for the criminal prosecution of believers for holding religious meetings and joint worship. CrimeaSOS and Ukrinform emphasize that the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses are allowed in most countries worldwide, and the persecution in occupied Crimea is part of a systematic religious repressive policy.

After his detention on June 4, 2019, Viktor was under a travel restriction while the criminal proceedings continued. The court hearings lasted about eight months, after which the process was restarted due to the judge's resignation. The prosecutor requested a seven-year prison sentence.

On September 13, 2021, after the sentence came into force, Viktor Stashevskyi was transferred to Correctional Colony No. 9 in Krasnodar Krai. In the colony, he was repeatedly subjected to disciplinary penalties, after which he was transferred to stricter conditions.

In September 2023, he was transferred to stricter conditions, and in October 2023, to a single-cell type facility.
On May 2, 2024, the Apsheronsky District Court of Krasnodar Krai granted the colony administration's request and ordered Viktor Stashevskyi to be transferred from the colony to prison for three years. On June 24, 2024, the Krasnodar Krai Court upheld this decision. In September 2024, he was transferred to Prison No. 2 in Vladimir Oblast, known as 'Vladimir Central.'

As of September 11, 2026, Viktor Stashevskyi continues to serve his sentence in Prison No. 2 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Vladimir Oblast. According to the current profile, the approximate term of imprisonment ends in July 2027.

Information used from open sources: Crimean Tatar Resource Center, ZMINA, CrimeaSOS, Association of Relatives of Kremlin Political Prisoners, Representation of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukrinform, Suspilne Crimea.

Photo: CrimeaSOS.

Date of update: 11.09.2026.