RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Actions against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian northwest

ANOTHER RESIDENT OF PETROZAVODSK ACCUSED OF EXTREMISM AND LOSES JOB BECAUSE OF PERSECUTION FOR FAITH

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 29 September 2019

 

On 20 September 2019 in Petrozavodsk, 44-year-old Dmitry Ravnushkin was arrested at his place of work. The believer was taken for interrogation, which lasted about four hours, after which he was released on his own recognizance. Three days later Dmitry Ravnushkin was fired from his job; the management explained: "We do not need problems."

 

A case regarding extremism (part 1, article 282.2 of CC RF) against Ravnushkin is being investigated by a senior investigator of the Karelia department of the F.S.B., S. Brigoriev, who also is in charge of the criminal prosecution of other Petrozavodsk believers, specifically Maksim Amosov and Mikhail Gordeev, who also was taken for questioning directly from his work. Among the charges in the case are such wordings as "organizing meetings" of Jehovah's Witnesses and "propagandizing activity."

 

A criminal case and the immediate loss of a job jeopardize not only Dmitry Ravnushkin, but also his family. Unjustified prosecutions for faith have also affected other peaceful residents of Karelia. On 31 July 2019, the F.S.B. conducted at least 17 searches in homes and at workplaces of citizens who are believed to be Jehovah's Witnesses in the cities of Petrozavodsk and Kondopoga. (tr. by PDS, posted 30 September 2019)


Related articles:
Actions against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian northwest
August 1, 2019
Web of prosecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses expands in Russian northwest
September 11, 2019


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