Kaluga Jehovah's Witnesses have had their house arrest replaced by a ban on certain activities

On February 20, the Kaluga District Court of the Kaluga Region replaced house arrest with a ban on certain actions for local Jehovah's Witness Dmitry Kuzin, accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization. This was reported on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Dmitry Kuzin was prohibited from leaving the house at night, communicating with other defendants in the case (except for his mother and wife), and using the telephone, the Internet and mail.

The investigator asked Kuzin to change the preventive measure. A believer in a pre-trial detention center has a deteriorating health condition. In addition, he needs to care for his elderly parents. The investigator also noted that Kuzin does not violate the rules of the pre-trial detention center and is “characterized satisfactorily.”

Kaluga Jehovah's Witnesses Roman Makhnev and Dmitry Kuzin are suspected of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). The preliminary investigation in this case was extended until April 26, 2020.

The headline and first paragraph of the news have been changed. It was previously stated that Kuzin was placed under house arrest.

• Makhnev and Kuzin were searched in June 2019, and personal belongings, electronic devices and various literature were confiscated. Roman Makhnev stated that employees of the regional FSB department planted literature that was subsequently confiscated on him. Then the believers were sent to a pre-trial detention center.
• 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 Jehovah's Witnesses organizations were added to the list of prohibited organizations. Together with the “Administrative Center”, almost 400 more regional communities were recognized as extremist.
• 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.