A believer from the Chelyabinsk region underwent a second search in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses

In the city of Asha, Chelyabinsk region, security forces conducted a second search in the apartment of believer Vadim Fedorov, against whom a case was opened for organizing the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses community. This is stated on the website covering the persecution of believers.

“Vadim was at work, so he returned home at the end of the investigative actions <...> The search took place in a calm atmosphere. A laptop, memory cards and personal notes were confiscated from the Fedorov family,” reports the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia portal.

After the search, Fedorov was taken to the Investigative Committee, where they reported that a case had been opened against him under the article on organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). Subsequently, the believer was released on his own recognizance.

The first search in Vadim Fedorov’s apartment took place in June 2021 - at the same time the security forces came to the home of his son Andrei. In total, on that day, security forces carried out investigative actions in the houses of five families of believers from the Chelyabinsk region.

• 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. All organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were included in the list of prohibited ones, after which a stream of criminal cases against believers began.
• On June 7, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights declared this ban and the subsequent persecution of believers illegal. From the court’s point of view, the decision to liquidate and criminal cases is based on an overly broad definition of “extremism”, which in Russian legislation “can be applied to absolutely peaceful forms of speech.”