A Jehovah's Witness from Russia who sought asylum was arrested in Belarus

On September 29, in Belarus, Jehovah's Witness from Russia Oleg Lonshakov, who had previously been put on the interstate wanted list for involvement in an extremist organization, was detained. This was reported on a website covering the persecution of believers in Russia.

Lonshakov was detained in Brest. He has been living in Belarus for more than a year, has a residence permit and sought asylum due to criminal prosecution in his homeland.

By order of the Brest prosecutor, the believer was sent until November 8 to pre-trial detention center No. 7 of the Republic of Belarus.

Before moving to Belarus, Oleg Lonshakov lived in the village of Tavrichanka, Primorsky Krai. In July 2020, searches of eleven Jehovah's Witnesses were carried out there.

• 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.