A court in Moscow extended the detention of two Jehovah's Witnesses for six months

On February 7, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow extended for six months the detention of Jehovah's Witnesses Alexander Serebryakov and Yuri Temirbulatov, accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). This is reported on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

The court also refused to satisfy the defense's requests to transfer the case to another court and to return the case to the prosecutor. The defense notes that the judge is delaying the decision on the issue of recognizing part of the evidence as inadmissible.

The believers were detained in February 2021, and since then they have been in pre-trial detention. The investigation into the case has been completed and it has been sent to court for consideration.

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.