In Sochi, two Jehovah's Witnesses were transferred to a temporary detention facility

In Sochi, Jehovah's Witnesses Vladimir Deshko and Tatyana Velizhanina were transferred from the pre-trial detention center to temporary detention center No. 3. This was reported on the website “Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia”.

Deshko and Velizhanina are accused of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1.1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). They have been in custody for more than 8 months. They were detained on March 25 along with two other believers. According to the security forces, all of them were engaged in “involvement in the activities of an extremist organization,” as they talked with local residents on religious topics.

• 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.