Translated material
The court in Sochi extended the preventive measure in the form of detention for two Jehovah's Witnesses
The Khostinsky District Court of Sochi extended the preventive measure for Jehovah's Witnesses Vladimir Deshko and Tatyana Velizhanina. Caucasian Knot reports this.
The believers were left in pre-trial detention until May 18. Both are accused of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).
Deshko’s lawyer Sergei Yanovsky commented on the results of the meeting: “My client objected to the extension of the preventive measure in the form of detention, arguing that he is not a person who can put pressure on witnesses or otherwise interfere with the proceedings in a criminal case. I also asked that the stated request [of the investigation to extend the custody] be denied, citing the fact that the accused has no intention of hiding and obstructing the investigation, or putting pressure on witnesses and experts. Deshko has a permanent place of residence, and persons living in the residential premises do not object to his presence in the residential premises during house arrest.”
24 April 19:54 “Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia” report that the arrested believer Vladimir Deshko was transferred from the Sochi detention center to the Armavir pre-trial detention center-2, which is located 400 kilometers from the first place of detention.
26 April 17:48 After the trial, Tatyana Velizhanina is not transferred to a pre-trial detention center. “The investigator continues to hold her in the local temporary detention center, so she cannot yet receive letters,” Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia report .
- On March 25, in Sochi, representatives of the Investigative Committee detained and sent four Jehovah’s Witnesses to a temporary detention center. Two of them, Yuri Loginsky and Yuri Moskalev, were given a preventive measure in the form of house arrest. The rest - Vladimir Deshko and Tatyana Velizhanina - were sent to a pre-trial detention center.
- In 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.
- Rosfinmonitoring has added hundreds of Russian followers of Jehovah's Witnesses to the list of extremists and terrorists. Most of the people on the list are believers between 40 and 60 years old. They are under investigation or sentenced to various punishments under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization or participation in the activities of an extremist organization).