Three Jehovah's Witnesses arrested in Neftekumsk

The FSB motivated the need to arrest believers by the fact that they did not renounce their religious views.

December 7, 2018 at Neftekumsk, Stavropol Territory, a criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization). December 9 as part of investigation in the city, at least eight searches were carried out at Witnesses' Jehovah. Three people - Alexander Akopov, Konstantin Samsonov and Shamil Sultanov - were arrested, another person was put on the wanted list. Later it became known that we are talking about Alexei Shcherbich.

Witnesses The Jehovahs report that during the searches conducted by the law enforcement agencies with machine guns and masks, humiliating human dignity treatment. Two believers called an ambulance. Law enforcement officers bodies confiscated books, documents, notebooks and photographs, means of communication, computers and storage media, personal funds and bank cards.

During the consideration of the issue of choosing a measure suppression in court, the FSB officers motivated the need keeping Samsonov and Sultanov in custody by the fact that after the Supreme court banning the activities of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, they "do not renounced their religious views." Such a wording testifies on the violation of the constitutionally guaranteed right of citizens to freedom of conscience.

April 2017 The Supreme Court of ruled Russia recognition of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses extremist. In July, was dismissed an appeal against this decision , after which, in August, the organizations were included in the list of extremist. We believe that this is the solution like the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in general, had no legal basis, and We regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination.

On December 5, 2019, the Leninsky District Court of Stavropol granted the petition of the investigation to order Akopov, Samsonov and Sultanov a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. They were released from custody in the courtroom.

Sources

• Message from Jehovah's Witnesses, December 14, 2018.
• List of those prosecuted on charges of belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses // HRC "Memorial". 2019. January.
• Rustam Jalilov. Three Jehovah's Witnesses* released from detention in Stavropol Territory // Caucasian Knot. 2019. December 5th.