Three Jehovah's Witnesses arrested in Primorye

Boris Andreev, Natalya Sharapova and Anatoly Li are accused of continuing the activities of the banned community.

On October 6, 2022, in the village of Yaroslavsky (Primorsky Territory), law enforcement officers conducted searches in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses. Two believers - 70-year-old Boris Andreev and 49-year-old Natalya Sharapova - were detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center the next day. Andreev is suspected under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization), Sharapov - under part 1.1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (involvement in the activities of an extremist organization). On October 12, the court arrested another believer in the case of Andreev and Sharapova - 37-year-old Anatoly Li, also accused under Part 1.1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code.

Investigative actions took place at least at 12 addresses. Several people were interrogated after the searches.

The accusation of Jehovah's Witnesses of involvement in the activities of an extremist organization is due to the fact that in April 2017 the Supreme Court of Russia decided to recognize the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and 395 local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist. We believe that this decision, which entailed the mass persecution of believers under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, had no legal grounds, and we regard it as a manifestation of religious discrimination. In June 2022, the ECHR issued a ruling on the complaint of Jehovah's Witnesses, in which it recognized that the ban on their materials and organizations and the persecution of believers are contrary to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and demanded that criminal cases be dropped under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code against Jehovah's Witnesses and release imprisoned believers.

Sources

• The court placed a man and a woman in a pre-trial detention center after a wave of searches at believers in Primorye. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2022. October 14.