RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 

Jehovah's Witnesses harassed while witnessing

MANIFESTATIONS OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE TOWARD JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA

In the period from 11 February to 31 March 2015

 

We have recorded:

 

--Six police arrests during witnessing ministry: settlement of Mari-Turek (Marii Ed) (2), city of Bavly (Tatarstan), city of Volgorechensk (Kostroma prov.), settlement of Ivnia (Belgorod prov.), city of Korolev (Moscow prov.);

 

--Three incidents of obstruction of religious activity conducted by officials: settlement of Kholm-Zhirokovsky (Smolensk prov.) (3);

 

--Two incidents of obstruction of religious activity conducted by hostile people: village of Velikovskoe (Nizhny Novgorod prov.), city of Korolev (Moscow prov.);

 

--Five incidents of assault causing bodily harm or threat to life, conducted by hostile people: city of Pervouralsk (Sverdlov prov.), city of Kozlovka (Chuvashiia), settlement of Novoozernyi (Crimea), city of Kirov (Kaluga prov.), city of Samara;

 

--One search in residence of believers: settlement of Mari-Turek (Marii El);

 

--Three incidents of vandalism: Moscow (Krylatskoe) (stand), city of Vesegonsk (Tver prov.) (literature—2 incidents);

 

--Two incidents of distribution of defamatory leaflets: city of Gavrilov-Yam (Yaroslavl prov.), Moscow;

 

--Two pickets directed against activity of Jehovah's Witnesses: city of Belgorod, city of Syzran, village of Obrastsovoe (Samara prov.).

 

Description of several incidents:

 

1. 11 February 2015: city of Pervouralsk (Sverdlov prov.). Two women (56 and 68 years), Jehovah's Witnesses, were sharing their religious views with residents of an apartment building. In one apartment they were conversing in a positive tone with a young person and they left him a religious booklet. After some time, an elderly man came out of this same apartment and rudely said that the believers should leave the entryway. The women apologized for disturbing him and said that they will leave. However, he began pushing them with his arms and legs from the fourth floor down the stairs. The women fell, but the man continued to deliver blows about their backs and heads. After the incident, the women went to an emergency room and also to the police department. A criminal case was opened regarding the beating.

 

2. 13 February 2015: Moscow (Krylatskoe). Two women (49 and 66 years), Jehovah's Witnesses, were standing outside with an information stand. A man of 30 to 35 years approached them purposefully in a khaki jacket and hood over his head and, without saying a word, seized the stand and smashed it to pieces on a nearby fence. After this he left immediately. A police car passing by on the road stopped briefly opposite the believers and soon left.

 

3. 13 February 2015: settlement of Mari-Turek (Marii El). A Jehovah's Witness woman (63) was sharing her religious views with people whom she met on the street. A young man approached her and took her by the arm and asked her to proceed with him to the police department. Along the way he explained that he was a police officer, although he did not present any documents to the believer. At the police station the contents of her bag were taken from her and she was asked where the woman got the literature and also it was suggested to her that she go home and check whether there was "extremist" literature there. The woman appealed to the fact that the police officers did not have a warrant for a search although they said that it was not necessary for them to have one and this would be, not a search, but an inspection. The police put the woman into a service vehicle and took two witnesses from their trainees and drove her home. There they confiscated all her religious literature, including a Bible, and said that in a week after the search they would call the woman to the department. Several days later police officers took from the believer a written pledge that she would not distribute religious literature any more. The woman signed it, since she was very depressed and scared. After a short time she was again arrested and it was explained that it was because a biblical booklet published by Jehovah's Witnesses had been put into the post office box of one of the policemen. She was told that she should give a written pledge that she would not do this any more, to which she answered that there were other Witnesses in the settlement besides her and that indeed she herself intended to continue her religious activity despite her signature that had been illegally gained from her.

 

4. 28 February 2015: village of Velikovskoe (Nizhny Novgorod prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses women, along with their children, were sharing on the street their religious views with residents of the settlement. When they saw that an Orthodox priest got out of a parked car, the believers approached him in order to read a short excerpt from the Bible. The priest began shouting at the women and began to insult them and asked by what right they had approached him. The women answered that they converse with everybody whom they meet. The man said that the believers should not witness to anybody any more and threatened them with violence. He also threatened that he would incite people and they would destroy the women's house. After the conversation, the believers phoned the police station and relayed to it the priest's threat. To this the policeman said that the women could submit a statement to him.

 

5. 1 March 2015: city of Kozlovka (Chuvashiia). Two Jehovah's Witnesses were sharing their religious views in a private sector. Two men approached them, apparently in a state of alcoholic intoxication. One of them called the believers sectarians and demanded that one of the Witnesses give him a Bible. A believer said that they did not have copies for distribution with them, and he could not give away a personal signed copy. Then the man struck the believer on his head with his fist and after this threw him face down in the snow. The second man tried to calm his colleague down. A believer offered a Bible to the attacker, but he did not want to take it and said that if his friend had not stopped him he would have killed the believer. The victim intends to submit a statement to the police.

 

6. 4 March 2015: city of Bavly (Tatarstan). Two women (62 and 30 years), Jehovah's Witnesses, were sharing their religious views with residents of the city. As they exited an apartment building, they were arrested by police officers, who said that they had been called. They told the believers that they were under arrest and they took them to the police department. At the department their fingerprints were taken and they were photographed and they also were forced to write explanations.

 

7. 6 March 2015: city of Volgorechensk (Kostroma prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses were sharing their religious views in an apartment building. When they exited outside, a police sergeant approached them and asked what they were doing and asked them to produce documents. After this he said that the believers must follow him to the police department and in the event of refusal, force would be applied to them. At the department the believers were told that there is an order from the administration to arrest everybody who is distributing any kind of literature. Their documents were checked and the information was transcribed and they were released. The believers were refused a report about their detention.

 

8. 10 March 2015: settlement Ivnia (Belgorod prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses (22 and 77 years) were sharing their religious views with residents of the village. While they were walking along the street a police vehicle drove up to them, from which an officer got out. He asked the believers to follow him to the precinct house. At the precinct house the Witnesses' fingerprints were taken and their documents were checked, and after they gave explanations they were taken back to the place where they had been arrested.

 

9. 11 March 2015: settlement of Novoozernyi (Crimea). A Jehovah's Witnesses couple were sharing their religious views in an apartment building. When they were on the first floor, a man (45) came down from above and asked the believers what they were doing there. After hearing the answer, he called them "sectarians" and in a hostile manner he demanded that they depart. By his insults he tried to provoke the believers into a fight, but seeing that nothing succeeded he struck one Witness in the face with his fist and left. The believers sent a statement to the police.

 

10. 12 March 2015: city of Vesegonsk (Tver prov.). A Jehovah's Witnesses couple were standing at an information stand on the street. A group of women approached them who were parishioners of the local Orthodox church. They gathered up all the literature from the stand and tore it up on the spot. The next day the situation was repeated.

 

11. 13 March 2015: city of Gavrilov-Yam (Yaroslavl prov.). A Jehovah's Witness who was standing at an information stand was approached by a policeman and asked to follow him to the precinct station. After the believer refused to do this, the officer said that the conversation could be held in his automobile. The policeman explained that a complaint against Jehovah's Witnesses had been received, which was written by a local priest, in which he asked that measures be taken against their religious activity, although, as the officer noted, no specific accusations had been filed in the statement. The believer said that previously Jehovah's Witnesses had already been arrested in this city and their literature had been examined, and their explanations were in the police department. He also explained that for some period of time a priest had been pasting up fliers around the city in which "the harm" of Jehovah's Witnesses was described.

 

12. 13 March 2015: settlement of Kholm-Zhirkovskii (Smolensk prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses women were sharing their religious views with residents of the settlement. A car stopped near them from which a man got out and asked what the believers were doing. He said that "two women in skirts appeared suspicious on the street." The man turned out to be a criminal investigation operations officer, Captain Mikhail Petrov. He asked that the next time that the believers wanted to go witnessing they should phone the police and warn them about this. This was the third case recently in the village when police officers asked Witnesses to inform them in advance about their religious activity in the settlement.

 

13. 14 March 2015: city of Belgorod. During a religious meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses in Kingdom Hall (a house of worship), activists of the "Youth First Aid" led by A. Androsov conducted an "antisectarian" picket. Over the course of 30 minutes, picketers shouted insulting slogans loudly. A squad of police and a representative of the administration, Titov, attended. (On 19 March the representatives of the above named movement again conducted yet another picket.)

 

14. 15 March 2015: city of Kirov (Kaluga prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses were standing on the street with an information stand. A man approached them and asked if the believers had permission to stand in this spot. The Witnesses replied affirmatively. Then the man became very angry and began kicking the stand and scattering the literature, and he also struck one of the believers in the face. The attacker began threatening violence and he said that he is a member of the RNE movement and that if the believers did not cease conducting their activity then he would damage the private car of one of them. The Witnesses summoned the police and submitted a statement about the incident.

 

15. 15 March 2015: city of Samara. Two women (61 and 58 years), Jehovah's Witnesses, were sharing their own religious views with residents of an apartment building. They were on the second floor at a time when a tall, large man was descending the staircase. He stopped and asked what the women were doing here. After hearing the answer, he seized one of the women (61) and with all his might pushed her down the stairs. After this he began beating her with his legs about the back and lower limbs. On the first floor he seized her by the arms of our outer clothing with such force that he tore it. The man had an extremely hostile attitude and his beatings were accompanied by insulting expressions and threats. Outside, the women even were not able to stand up and recover from the shock, since he again attacked them and they had to save themselves by running away. The victims went to the emergency room where they were told to send an alert to the police.

 

16. 20 March 2015: Moscow. In the district of the Nagornaia metro station, leaflets were pasted up which had been published by the Joseph of Volotsk Evangelism Center, which demeaned the honor and dignity of members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religion.

 

17. 30 March 2015: city of Korolev (Moscow prov.). Two Jehovah's Witnesses were standing on the street with an information stand. A hostile young man approached them and threatened to call the police or to call his friends in order to "deal with" the believers. He left and afterward returned with two policemen who ordered the believers to come with them to the department. To the Witnesses' question: "what is the reason for the arrest?" one of them answered that "he was not required to submit to them." At the department, the believers' fingerprints were taken, they were photographed, explanations were taken, and after four hours of detention they were released. The police kept one copy of each of the publications that were represented on the stand.

 

18. 29 March 2015: city of Syzran, village of Obraztsovoe (Samara prov.). In the morning, a picket against Jehovah's Witnesses' activity was conducted near a Kingdom Hall (house of worship). Its organizer was a former husband of one of the adherents of this religion. Several representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia also were present at the picket. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 April 2015)

 

Russian original posted on SOVA site, 1 April 2015


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