SEARCHES IN HOMES OF GEORGIEVSK BELIEVERS. MORE
FRAME-UPS AND
INTERROGATIONS OF BELIEVERS
Jehovah's
Witnesses in Russia, 4 November 2019'
In the evening of 23 October 2019, in Georgievsk
(Stavropol
territory) police in bullet-proof vests almost simultaneously
burst into three
residences of believers. Searches were conducted. In all the
homes, flash
drives were planted on the residents. Eleven persons, one of
whom is disabled,
were transported to the local police department for
interrogation, which lasted
until 2:00 a.m.
During the raid, police, who identified
themselves as the
"Investigative Committee," confiscated electronic devices and
asked
questions about the religious affiliation of the residents and
about where they
keep the financial resources and how often they see their fellow
believers.
Viktor Zimovsky, in whose home a search was conducted, underwent
a complicated
heart operation, and although at the time of the search he was
feeling badly,
he was taken for questioning along with the others. In another
case, the police
sprung a search upon a woman who was at home with a fever. All
were
finger-printed.
Three years ago it was from the village of
Nezlobnaia of Georgievsk
district of Stavropol territory that a wave of persecution of
Jehovah's
Witnesses of that region unfolded. At the time, law enforcement
agents planted
forbidden literature on believers right under surveillance
cameras and it has
become obvious that the practice of frame-ups is continuing.
(tr. by PDS,
posted 4 November 2019)
Related article:
Routine harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses
August 26, 2016
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.