RUSSIAN
CITIZENSHIP
TAKEN FROM SARATOV MEMBER OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ORGANIZATION,
BANNED IN R.F., WHO
WAS CONVICTED FOR EXTREMISM
Feliks
Makhammadiev, a
resident of Saratov who is a member of the extremist religious
organization of
Jehovah's Witnesses (which is forbidden in Russia), has been
deprived of
Russian citizenship. This was reported by news media, citing the
European
association of the religious organization. Now Feliks
Makhammadiev, who was
found guilty of extremism (article 282.2 of the CC RF), is
serving his sentence
in the Orenburg penal colony.
The
family was
informed about the cancellation of Makhammadiev's grant of
Russian citizenship
at the police department. The document was signed on 17 April
2020 by the chief
of the directorate for migration affairs of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs
for Saratov oblast, Aleksei Zelepukin. The reason was his
conviction by a
court.
Feliks
Makhammadiev was
born into a family in Uzbekistan. As a child he moved with his
mother to
Saratov. Here he became a Russian citizen. The organization
maintains that this
was his only citizenship.
"Feliks
and I
are in shock. After he was informed of the decision, he was
unable to come to
himself for several minutes. Now there is sheer uncertainty. How
will this
decision affect the future of our family? Will Feliks be able to
remain in the
country after his release or will we be separated again for a
long time?"
Makhammadiev's wife, Evgenia Lagunova, declared.
We
recall that the
Lenin district court of Saratov sentenced six Witnesses to
prison terms of from
two to three and a half years in a penal colony of general
regime. They were
convicted of extremism (part 1 of article 282.2 of the CC RF).
Later they tried
to appeal the sentence in Saratov oblast court. Dozens of fellow
believers
arrived to support the convicts. However the court dismissed the
appeal. The
state earned almost a million rubles on the Saratov cell of an
extremist
religious organization. (tr. by PDS, posted 14 May 2020)
Background articles:
Six Jehovah's Witnesses convicted in same
trial,
Sept. 19, 2019
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