At least three Jehovah's Witnesses were detained in the Krasnodar region after mass searches

On April 7, FSB officers conducted searches of Jehovah's Witnesses in the village of Kholmskaya, Krasnodar Territory. This was reported by the press service of the organization Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Investigative actions took place at at least four addresses, including that of believer Anna Ermak, who had a newborn child at home. A tape cassette, CDs, sheets with the heading “Jehovah's Witnesses in Eritrea are in prison for their faith,” a notebook with personal notes and a photo album with postcards where Jehovah was mentioned were confiscated from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Ermak was also given a summons for questioning.

Jehovah's Witness Olga Ponomareva was also searched. FSB representatives seized a laptop and a notebook with personal notes. The security forces stated that they were acting within the framework of a case of “inducing, recruiting or involving a person in the activities of an extremist organization” (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). After the search, Ponomareva was detained and taken to the Investigative Committee for interrogation. The investigator, as the believer said, invited her to testify against “her friends” and threatened to send her to a pre-trial detention center. The religious supporter was released on her own recognizance.

The security forces took two more religious men for questioning, including Alexander Nikolaev, who was searched at three addresses: his registration, his actual residence and his apartment for rent. Law enforcement officers confiscated electronic devices, a book on psychology, notes and drawings of his child from Nikolaev. The believer was charged with participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

• In April 2021, Jehovah's Witness from the village of Kholmskaya, Alexander Shcherbina, was sentenced to three years in a general regime colony. Previously, Shcherbina was a witness in the case of another believer, 63-year-old Alexander Ivshin, who was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Another of their fellow countrymen, Oleg Danilov, was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges in March.
• In April 2017, the Supreme Court recognized the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as an extremist organization and banned its activities throughout the country. In August, all communities of Jehovah's Witnesses were added to the list of prohibited ones.
• OVD-Info talked about the life of Jehovah's Witnesses under the ban and how they were persecuted.