Police raid on the Balashikha mosque

On November 17, 2023, a police raid took place at a Muslim prayer house in Balashikha near Moscow during Friday prayers.

Armed security forces, including employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Center "E", FSB and the prosecutor's office, surrounded the building in which the house of worship is located, checked the documents of those leaving, and detained some. Some of them were put on a bus to be taken to the military registration and enlistment office.

Previously, residents of the Balashikha microdistrict Pavlino, where the prayer house is located, expressed dissatisfaction with the proximity to the Muslim organization. They are dissatisfied with the noise, the use of sound amplification equipment during services, problems with parking due to the influx of visitors, and the fact that no one asked the opinion of local residents when opening the house of worship.

Let us remember that earlier the police carried out raids in other mosques near Moscow.

Sources

• In Balashikha, a raid on a mosque - security forces detained some men under the pretext of visiting the military registration and enlistment office // Telegram channel “Religion and Politics”. 2023. November 18.
• Residents of the Moscow region complain about an illegal mosque in a residential building // Moskovsky Komsomolets. 2023. November 11.