Suspected members of Jehovah's Witnesses arrested in Orenburg

In Orenburg, two people whom investigators consider to be members of the Jehovah's Witnesses community have been placed in a pre-trial detention center. This was reported on the website orenday.ru with reference to a source in law enforcement agencies.

On May 16, searches were carried out in premises in Orenburg and Buzuluk where, according to investigators, Jehovah's Witnesses gathered. After the searches, a preventive measure was chosen against six people in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the place, against one person - house arrest, and two people were sent to an isolation ward. All of them are suspects under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (activities of an extremist organization).

UPD May 23 The editors of OVD-Info received a letter from the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, which clarifies the data on those detained in Orenburg and the Orenburg region.

As reported in the letter, on May 17, searches were carried out in four settlements of the Orenburg region: in Orenburg, Buzuluk, Sol-Iletsk and the village of Perevolotsky. A total of 18 searches in the homes of those whom law enforcement agencies consider members of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Nine searches took place in Orenburg. Eight people were found accused in a criminal case for organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). A written undertaking not to leave the place was taken from six people; one, Vladislav Kolbanov, was placed under house arrest. On May 19, the city's Industrial District Court sent two defendants to pre-trial detention: Vladimir Kochnev and Alexander Suvorov.

There were five searches in Buzuluk, and one person was given a written undertaking not to leave.

In Perevolotsky, security forces came to two addresses, and Boris Andreev was given a written undertaking not to leave.

There were also two searches in the city of Sol-Iletsk; Anatoly Vichkitov was accused in the case. They also took a subscription from him.

According to the association of Jehovah's Witnesses, in different regions of Russia, in connection with the persecution of the organization's communities, 8 people are currently under arrest: Dennis Christensen in Orel, Anatoly Vilitkevich in Ufa, Roman Markin and Viktor Trofimov in the Murmansk region, Valentin Osadchuk in Vladivostok, Alam Aliyev in Birobidzhan and Vladimir Kochnev and Alexander Suvorov in Orenburg.

• In April, arrests in connection with accusations of involvement in the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses took place in the Primorsky Territory, Bashkortostan, Murmansk and Ivanovo regions. A resident of Vladivostok was arrested. Two residents of Polyarny (Murmansk region) were allegedly arrested.

• In February, two residents of Belgorod were detained on suspicion of organizing the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses community.

• On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the “Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia” as an extremist organization, liquidated it and banned its activities in Russia. In August, all organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of prohibited organizations.