In Primorye, the case of Jehovah's Witnesses has been brought to court

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

On September 22, 2023, the investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Primorsky Territory reported that in the Khorolsky district the investigation into the case of three Jehovah's Witnesses was completed, who, depending on the role of each, were accused under Part 1 and Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organizing the activities of an extremist organization and participating in it). We are talking about the case of Boris Andreev, Natalia Sharapova and Anatoly Lee.

The case was opened on October 3, 2022, and on October 6, searches were carried out in the village of Yaroslavsky. Two believers - 70-year-old Andreev and 49-year-old Sharapova - were detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center the next day. Then it was reported that Andreev became a suspect under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code, and Sharapova - 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, 37-year-old Li, also under Part 1.1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code. At what point were the charges reclassified to Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code is still unclear.

According to investigators, the accused continued the activities of the liquidated organization of Jehovah's Witnesses from August 2018 to October 2022.

Sources

• In the Khorolsky district, a criminal investigation has been completed against three local residents accused of extremism // Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Primorsky Territory. 2023. September 22.
• The court placed a man and a woman in pre-trial detention after a wave of searches of believers in Primorye. Message from Jehovah's Witnesses. 2022. October 14.