PAVLODAR POLICE DISCOVER VIDEO OF ARSON OF CHURCH OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Police in Pavlodar province received a videotape on which an unidentified man sets fire to a church of Jehovah's Witnesses.
The one-story wooden building of the church caught fire on 14 September 2016. The area of the blaze consisted of 200 square meters. The framework of the building was entirely burned out.
As the head of the office for religious affairs of Pavlodar province, Daulet Zakaryanov, explained, the videotape came to the investigators from a nearby parking lot, which captured an unidentified man during the arson of the building. The video is of not very good quality, but on it can be seen how a man poured something on the wall of the building and set fire to it; he watches the fire for some time and calmly leaves.
At the request of the investigation, the office organized a meeting of police with members of the congregation. During the viewing of the video, one woman recognized her relative in the night visitor.
"Most likely a family conflict occurred. Some one of the relatives was opposed. All attempts to bring him back to the family were unsuccessful and this drove him to this act," Daulet Zakaryanov expressed his opinion, adding that the investigation is still not finished.
Now the congregation is not conducting religious events, but it hopes to collect money and to build a new building next year. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 December 2016)
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