In Irkutsk, Jehovah's Witnesses were subjected to torture during arrest

In Irkutsk, members of the Grom special forces and the Russian Guard brutally beat Jehovah's Witnesses Anatoly Razdabarov and Nikolai Merinov during searches and arrests. The European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses reported this to OVD-Info.

As the organization's press service said, in a number of cases, security forces entered the houses of believers through broken windows or balcony doors.

The search and interrogation of 31-year-old Anatoly Razdabarov lasted more than eight hours. The man was thrown to the floor, handcuffed behind his back, and kicked in the head and kidney area. After this, the believer was lifted by the hands fastened behind his back and beaten on the hands, demanding that he provide access to the information on the phone. “Then, as part of an intimidation strategy, staff simulated rape by pushing a glass bottle into the buttocks,” the association said.

Razdabarov's wife Greta was taken into the next room, handcuffed behind her back, and pushed repeatedly.

The next day, the believer underwent a medical examination and recorded injuries. He filed a complaint against the actions of law enforcement officers with the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office, and also reported the torture to the Commissioner for Human Rights.

23-year-old Nikolai Merinov was hit in the face with a heavy blunt object. He fell to the floor and lost consciousness. When the man woke up, the special forces soldier was sitting on him and striking him. Merinov's front teeth were broken.

His wife Lilia was dragged out of bed by her hair, her hands were twisted and she was handcuffed. She was also hit. After a search, the Merinovs were released. They recorded injuries at the medical facility.

“Unjustified, unmotivated cruelty towards peaceful believers who do not offer resistance is a sad continuation of the brutal repressions of the Soviet era. In 2019, a raid on believers in Surgut resulted in sophisticated torture; in 2020, believers in Chita reported beatings and torture; after that, a mass raid in Voronezh again led to beatings and torture,” noted Yaroslav Sivulsky, an employee of the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

On October 4, searches were conducted at 12 addresses of Jehovah's Witnesses in Irkutsk. As a result, six believers were placed in pre-trial detention, and another was placed under house arrest. They are charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

On October 12, the Court in Irkutsk refused to recognize searches in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses as illegal, reports Sibir.Realii. During the investigative actions, the security forces did not present documents about the search, and the detainees were subjected to beatings and torture.

• In mid-February 2019, massive searches of Jehovah's Witnesses took place in Surgut. At least seven of them, including 57-year-old Sergei Loginov, spoke of humiliation, beatings and electric shocks. The Investigative Committee refused to initiate a criminal case against the security forces, despite the conclusion of independent experts - they confirmed that the believers were left with injuries indicating the use of torture.
• In February 2020, mass searches of Jehovah's Witnesses were carried out in Chita and its environs in the case of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). One of the believers told the lawyer that he was taken to the forest and tortured, demanding a confession.
• In July 2020, the Investigative Committee conducted the largest special operation in Voronezh in the entire history of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. In the cities and villages of the region, security forces conducted 110 searches and opened two criminal cases for organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code) against ten believers. Four believers, through a lawyer, spoke about torture during detention.
• 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 of the same year, 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.