In Nizhny Novgorod, the court sent two defendants in the case of the Jehovah's Witnesses community to pre-trial detention center

In Nizhny Novgorod, two defendants in the case of the regional community of Jehovah's Witnesses, Alexei Oreshkov and Alexander Vavilov, were sent to a pre-trial detention center. Representatives of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses reported this to OVD-Info. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reports thirty-one searches, five criminal cases and nine defendants.

According to Jehovah's Witnesses, criminal cases have been initiated under Part 1 of Article 282.2 (organizing the activities of an extremist organization). In relation to the remaining seven defendants in the cases, a preventive measure not related to deprivation of liberty was chosen. Oreshkov and Vavilov were detained on July 16.

The website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs states that people from 23 to 52 years old, including two women, were involved in criminal cases.

• 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.
• Since the ban, followers of religious teachings have faced persecution, criminal cases, searches and torture by representatives of the Russian authorities.