Jehovah's Witness from the Moscow region arrested

Yuri Krutyakov, who was wanted, was sent to a pre-trial detention center, he is accused under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code.

On March 5, 2020, the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow arrested, until April 30, 67-year-old Jehovah's Witness Yuri Krutyakov, accused under Part 1, Part 1.1 and Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization, recruitment into it and participation in it).

Krutyakov, who lived in Chekhov, was previously one of the founders of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Podolsk, Moscow Region. At the end of September 2019, the main investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region opened five criminal cases under article 282.2 of the Criminal Code in connection with the continuation of the activities of this organization. On October 3, a series of searches took place in Chekhov, the next day the Babushkinsky court sent under house arrest the detainees Zinaida Krutyakova (Yuri's wife), Konstantin Zherebtsov, Vitaly Nikiforov and Nikolai Yakovlev . Krutyakov himself was put on the federal wanted list.

According to investigators, Krutyakov was the leader of the organization and involved his wife and three other people in it. According to believers, the case is based on materials obtained during meetings of an FSB officer with believers.

On April 29, 2020, the court extended the preventive measure for all the accused until July 29, including Yury Krutyakov, who is in the pre-trial detention center, despite his complaints about his health.

The accusation of believers of involvement in the activities of the banned organization was due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia decided to recognize the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist. We believe that this decision had no legal basis and regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination.

Sources

• The court arrested the founder of the community of Jehovah's Witnesses in Podolsk in the case of extremism // TASS. March 5, 2020
• Case card No. 3/1-0041/2020 // Website of the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow. March 5, 2020
• In Chekhov, 67-year-old Yury Krutyakov is imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center, his wife Zinaida is already under house arrest. They face imprisonment for believing in God. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. March 6, 2020