Three followers of Jehovah's Witnesses were arrested for two months in Surgut

On February 18, a court in Surgut (Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug) arrested three alleged followers of Jehovah's Witnesses for three months. TASS reports this with reference to Oleg Menshikh, a representative of the press service of the regional department of the Investigative Committee.

Three people, whose names are not mentioned, were taken into custody on charges of participating in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code). Those arrested, and approximately 12 other people, were detained on February 15, when searches took place at several addresses in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.

In a conversation with TASS, Menshikh noted that the investigation is establishing the exact number of followers of Jehovah's Witnesses. Their number, according to UK estimates, can reach 250 people.

Mass searches on February 15took place in the houses of Jehovah's Witnesses in Surgut, Lyantor and other settlements of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. It was reported that criminal cases were initiated under parts 1 and 2 of Article 282.2 (organization and participation in the activities of an extremist organization), as well as under part 1.1 of this article (involvement in the activities of an extremist organization).

UPD February 20: The names of the three arrested have become known. The court sent Evgeniy Fedin, Sergei Loginov and Artur Severinchik to pre-trial detention center. OVD-Info was informed about this by the press service of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses.

• In the city of Urai (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug), searches and detentions of local Jehovah's Witnesses also took place at the beginning of February. Later, the court arrested 38-year-old Andrei Sazonov, who left behind a wife and two children, for three months.
• In April 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as an extremist organization and banned its activities throughout the country. In August of the same year, all communities of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of prohibited ones.
• In February 2019, the court handed down the first sentence in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses with real imprisonment - Danish citizen Dennis Christensen was sentenced to six years in prison.