A case has been opened in Belgorod regarding the continuation of the activities of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses

On February 7, 2018, security forces raided the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgorod. Two believers were detained as suspects in a criminal case.

On February 9, 2018, it became known that a criminal case had been opened in Belgorod under Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) in connection with the work of the local community of Jehovah's Witnesses.

According to the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, on the evening of February 7, police and SOBR searched at least 16 homes of believers. They confiscated Bibles, electronic devices and information carriers, passports, money, in some cases - photographs; they themselves were taken to the building of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Belgorod Region, fingerprinted and given summons for interrogation. Two citizens, Anatoly Chaliapin and Sergei Voikov, were detained as suspects in the case for 48 hours, and later released on bail.

The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, along with 395 local religious organizations, was recognized as an extremist organization on April 20, 2017 by the Supreme Court of Russia. An appeal against this decision was dismissed on July 17, and in August the organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of extremist organizations.

From our point of view, the liquidation of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses for extremism and the persecution of members of their communities have no legal basis and are a clear manifestation of religious discrimination.

Sources

• Mass searches and criminal cases against believers in Kemerovo and Belgorod - with reference to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Message from the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses. February 9, 2018.
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