A married couple of Jehovah's Witnesses was detained in Udmurtia

On January 21, in Votkinsk, representatives of law enforcement agencies came to the home and work of several Jehovah’s Witnesses. Two people, a married couple, were detained and taken away in an unknown direction. This was reported on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

The names of those detained are unknown. At the moment there is no information whether a criminal case has been opened against them.

The site mentions, according to eyewitnesses, that during searches Jehovah's Witnesses were given publications that had previously been included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

This is the first case of persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Udmurtia as part of a campaign lasting several 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. Later, all organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of prohibited ones. After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began.