RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Harassment of ordinary Jehovah's Witnesses in south of Russia

IN KARACHAY-CHERKESIA SECURITY AGENTS SEARCH MOTHER OF SEVERAL CHILDREN FOR EXTREMIST LITERATURE

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, 3 January 2020

 

Several weeks before the December raids in Cherkessk, security forces conducted a search in the home of a resident of the village of Ordzhonikidzevsky who is raising four children alone. This happened back in June 2019, but details have become known only now.

 

In the morning of 1 June, law enforcers on the street approached Indira, a mother of several children, while she was conversing with neighbors. After presenting a warrant for a search, they entered the home and recruited the neighbors in the capacity of witnesses. The search was conducted in the presence of three minor children of the woman. Over the course of two hours, the agents sought for "extremist" literature, checking even a school textbook. One of them asked whether Indira knew that a court had banned Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses. The woman said that the leader of the group said that he had nothing against Jehovah's Witnesses and he was "simply doing his job."

 

Having found nothing, the troops apologized and left. As Indira herself said, she had noticed being followed earlier in Karachaevsk.

 

Back in 2016, searches of the homes of local residents, who were suspected of distributing "extremist literature," were conducted in two residential areas of Karachay-Cherkessia, the settlement of Mednogorsky and the village of Kurdzhinovo. However at the time of the search, believers were not brought to criminal prosecution. As a result of the December searches in Cherkessk, 43-year-old Albert Batchaev was arrested and a criminal case against him was opened on the basis of the "extremism" article (282) of the Criminal Code. (tr. by PDS, posted 3 January 2020)


Background articles:
Jehovah's Witnesses harassed for using their songbook,
December 17, 2019
Routine harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses reported,
September 22, 2016


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