The Rostov Regional Court extended the arrest of three Jehovah's Witnesses until August

The Rostov Regional Court extended the preventive measure in the form of arrest for followers of Jehovah's Witnesses Vilen and Arsen Avanesov and Alexander Parkov. This was reported on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

The detention of believers was extended until August 19, 2020. All three have been in custody since May 22, 2019. The court did not take into account the health status of Parkov, who has an immune disease, as well as the advanced age of Vilen Avanesov.

The court left Vilen Avanesov’s son, Arsen, in custody under the pretext that he did not have time to familiarize himself with the materials of the criminal case (more than 20 volumes) within the prescribed period, and when free he “could hide from the investigation and court” and “influence witnesses " The court did not take into account the fact that Arsen Avanesov would not be able to provide support to his elderly mother, who had not been given visits by investigators for a year with either her son or her husband in the pre-trial detention center.

• On May 18, the Lenin Court of Rostov-on-Don extended the arrest of followers of Jehovah's Witnesses Vilen and Arsen Avanesov and Alexander Parkov for 2 days due to the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure: after May 20, 2020, believers will be in custody for a year, and the preventive measure for more than a year can only be extended by the regional court, while up to a year - in the framework of this case - only by the district court.
• On May 22, 2019, investigators came to search the homes of at least fifteen residents of Rostov-on-Don who considered themselves supporters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Law enforcement officers used force against some of the believers. On this day, Vilen and Arsen Avanesov and Alexander Parkov were detained. All three were charged with Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organizing the activities of an extremist organization). In January, the investigation brought another charge against Arsen Avanesov: receiving donations for renting premises for meetings of fellow believers was classified as raising funds for the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code).
• 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.