The United States imposed sanctions against employees of the Investigative Committee due to the torture of Jehovah's Witnesses

The United States imposed sanctions against employees of the Investigative Committee from Surgut, Vladimir Yermolaev and Stepan Tkach. They, according to the US State Department, were involved in the torture of followers of Jehovah's Witnesses* during interrogation. The State Department demands to stop criminal cases against 200 members of the organization, persecuted for religious beliefs.

“On February 15, 2019, employees of the Surgut Investigative Committee, led by Ermolaev and Tkach, subjected at least seven witnesses to suffocation, electric shocks and severe beatings during interrogation. This brutality contrasts sharply with the peaceful practices of Jehovah's Witnesses*, who were prosecuted for their religious beliefs in Russia following a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that declared them an "extremist organization," the report said .

Mediazona recalls that earlier several believers said that the security forces tried to extract evidence against other followers with the help of torture. According to them, the investigators beat them, used a stun gun, pulled a bag over their heads, depriving them of air, with the words “Speak, or you will definitely die.” The UK denied torture.

* "Jehovah's Witnesses" - the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.