Jehovah's Witness arrested in Kazan

Konstantin Sannikov is accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization.

On August 27, 2020, a court in Kazan detained Konstantin Sannikov, a follower of the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. He is charged under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization).

According to the believers, the reason for initiating the case was the reading of religious texts that took place at Sannikov's house.

Jehovah's Witnesses are accused of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia ruled that the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 of their local religious organizations were extremist. We believe that this decision, which entailed the mass persecution of believers in criminal proceedings, had no legal grounds, and we regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination.

Sources

• Jehovah's Witness arrested in Kazan // OVD-Info. 2020. September 24.