IN KOSTROMA BELIEVER RELEASED FROM SIZO FOR HOUSE ARREST
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 25 September 2018
On 21 September 2018, 21-year-old Sergei Raiman left the SIZO No. 1 of the Russian Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service for Kostroma oblast after 59 days of detention in custody. A Sverdlovsk district court of the city of Kostroma, after a five-hour session, changed the measure of restriction for him to house arrest, refusing an investigator's petition for extending detention in custody. It is noteworthy that a representative of the prosecutor's office supported the petition of the defendant for applying house arrest.
It has become known that the conditions of detention in the SIZO for Sergei were originally very severe: a small, single cell, and letters were not allowed. It was not permitted to have a Bible on the pretext that it contained maps of ancient Palestine, which, theoretically, might be used for preparing an escape. Later, however, the situation changed: he was permitted to have a Bible (with maps removed) and to receive letters, which became support for the young man.
Sergei's wife, Valeria Raiman, was arrested along with her husband on 25 July 2018 after a brutal assault upon their home. She spent two days in a cell for temporary detention, after which the court assigned her a measure of restriction in the form of prohibition on leaving home at night and also a prohibition on the internet, telephone, mail, and communication with "persons professing the teachings of Jehovah." On 21 September 2018 the court extended the measure of restriction assigned to her.
A criminal case was opened with regard to the Raiman spouses on the basis of parts 1 and 2 of article 282.2 of the CC RF (arranging and participating in the activity of an extremist society) on the basis of the fact that, according to the investigation, twice citizens assembled in their home for discussing the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses. On 20 September 2018, throughout Kostroma, massive searches were conducted by forces of the Investigative Committee of the RF, the Center for Combating Extremism, and the Russian Guard in eleven homes of citizens who, in the opinion of the investigation, profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Sixteen persons were actually detained for interrogation, several were arrested at 6 in the morning, and they were released only around 17:00. (tr. by PDS, posted 25 September 2018)
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