Extra Bio Info:

Hu Shigen was imprisoned in relation to his religious activity and religious leadership role. 

On July 10, 2015, Hu, a pro-democracy activist and underground church leader, disappeared in Beijing municipality while he was on his way to an underground church to give a sermon. The next day on July 11, public security officials criminally detained Hu.

On August 7, 2015, authorities placed Hu under "residential surveillance at a designated location" for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and "inciting subversion of state power." 

On January 8, 2016, authorities formally arrested Hu for "subverting state power" and held him at the Tianjin No. 1 PSB Detention Center in Xiqing district. 

On August 3, 2016, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Hu to seven years and six months in prison for "subversion of state power" (Art. 105 (1) CCL).  During the trial, prosecutors accused Hu of "leading a religious group that worked on advocacy campaigns around 'politically sensitive' cases." A photo of Hu's baptism was reportedly used as evidence against him as well. 

In October 2017, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion on Hu's imprisonment, calling for his immediate release.

On March 26, 2023, Hu was released from prison after completing his sentence.

Hu's health has reportedly deteriorated while in prison as he suffers from various ailments, including heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, bronchitis, and fatty liver disease.

Hu was previously imprisoned for 16 years in relation to his democracy and labor advocacy.

Extra Bio Info:

Isaac Mogos was detained for his religious belief.

On September 17, 1994, authorities arrested Mogos for conscientiously objecting to performing compulsory military service.

On December 4, 2020, Mogos was released, following concerns about COVID-19 in prisons.

Extra Bio Info:

Ivan Matsitsky was detained for his religious activity and religious leadership role.

In June 2017, authorities detained Matsitsky, the director of the Church of Scientology in St. Petersburg, after the Federal Security Service (FSB) and SWAT police raided the church’s headquarters and the homes of all five of the church’s leaders including Matsitsky. Matsitsky and his colleagues were accused of illegally conducting paid courses and programs without proper registration, and religious literature that authorities declared extremist was allegedly found at their residences.  They were charged with “illegal entrepreneurship committed by an organized group associated with the extraction of income on an especially large scale” (Art. 171-2 (a & b) RCC), “organizing an extremist community” (Art. 282.1 RCC), and “inciting hatred or enmity, as well as at humiliating the dignity of a person or a group of persons…by an organized group” (Art. 282-2(c) RCC).

On November 15, 2019, Matsitsky was released on bail and banned for engaging in certain activities, including severe limitations on his contacts with family and friends. 

In March 2021, authorities took Matsitsky back into custody for violating the conditions of his bail by contacting family members without written permission from his correctional officer.

In April 2022, Matsitsky was released from detention and placed under house arrest.

On May 25, 2022, Matsitsky was taken back into detention again after authorities alleged that he had violated the conditions of his house arrest by leaving his apartment, an allegation Matsitsky and his lawyers deny.

On August 24, 2023, the Nevsky District Court of St. Petersburg sentenced Matsitsky to six years in prison. Matsitsky was released following the verdict due to already serving his entire sentence.