Jehovah's Witness from Saratov was sent under house arrest

Saratov resident Rustam Seidkuliev was sent under house arrest until April 22, according to the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

On February 15, police detained Seidkuliev in the Adler shopping center (Sochi). After identifying the believer, he was told that he was wanted. He was placed in a local pre-trial detention center for five days and then escorted to Saratov.

On February 20, a search was conducted in the house of Saidkuliev’s parents in Saratov. Nothing was taken from them.

On February 22, the court placed Rustam Seidkuliev under house arrest for two months.

According to the website, his detention is connected with the case of six Jehovah's Witnesses, who were accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). In September 2019, the court sentenced the believers to two to three years of imprisonment in a colony and a year of restriction of freedom, and also banned them from holding leadership positions in public organizations for five years.

• 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. After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began. In February 2019, the court handed down its first sentence with real imprisonment - Danish citizen Dennis Christensen was sentenced to six years in prison, his complaint was accepted for consideration by the ECHR.