The Investigative Committee has completed its investigation into the case against Jehovah's Witnesses from Moscow, Alexander Serebryakov and Yuri Temirbulatov, and the believers have been finally charged. This was reported by the SOVA Information and Analytical Center.

The men are charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). They were detained in February 2021, and since then Serebryakov and Temirbulatov have been in pretrial detention.

According to investigators, believers studied religious literature, “carried out other activities characteristic of this association” and held online meetings via video conference. The only evidence of Serebryakov’s “guilt” is a video recording of the service made by law enforcement officers in August 2019 with a hidden camera.

The detainees have been in custody for almost a year. Temirbulatov has chronic health problems; in the pre-trial detention center he was diagnosed with cancer. In October, the man underwent surgery to remove the tumor. The believer is dependent on three minor children and a mother-in-law who has a group II disability.

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. Later, all Jehovah's Witnesses organizations were added to the list of prohibited organizations. After this, a stream of criminal cases against representatives of the confession began. Most of the people on the list are believers between 40 and 60 years old.

Jehovah's Witnesses from Moscow face final charges