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)
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