Jehovah's Witnesses from south of Russia complain of stronger pressure

In the south of Russia, pressure on Jehovah's Witnesses continues; three facts of this sort were registered in July. According to the report of the religious organization, in April-May, the SFD (South Federal District) and NCFD (North-Caucasian Federal District) saw at least 17 cases, when believers' rights were broken; while all over Russia for the same period right of Jehovah's Witnesses were broken at least 95 times.

In the Rostov Region, the court fined Alexei Fedorin, a Jehovah's Witness aged 85, Category II invalid, for "mass dissemination of extremist materials." The verdict was passed on July 28.

The district militiaman gathered the religious literature, which Fedorin had been disseminating for years in Sredni Egorlyk village and filed a report saying that Alexei Fedorin allegedly spread the literature already after it was regarded as extremist by the court ruling.

The public prosecutor interrogated Fedorin for more than 8 hours; however, failed to formulate the charge. He noted in his presentation that Alexei Fedorin disseminated literature on June 15-18, 2010, whereas Fedorin himself asserts that he was ill at that time and did not participate in religious activity.

The judge, having turned out his accompanying persons out of the courtroom, ignored the believer's statement that in 2010 he did not spread any publications. The "Caucasian Knot" was informed about it at the press service of the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Fedorin, who spent 5 years in prison in Soviet years for his religious beliefs, and his co-believers are aggrieved with the fact that in Russia again people are persecuted for their religious beliefs; they state the forged character of the accusation, on which the court had ruled to fine the veteran.

Also in July, Jehovah's Witnesses failed to hold their regional congress in Nezlobnaya village, Stavropol Territory. The entrances to the building were blocked by garbage trucks, and the building was cordoned by militiamen. On July 24, a pack with sticking out wires was detected near the building, where the service was to take place; the entrances were blocked. Mass evacuation was announced, and the believers who had arrived to the annual three-day congress of Jehovah's Witnesses had to go home.

On July 9, Jehovah's Witnesses from the Krasnodar Territory were detained, on their way to the annual divine service to Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory), at the militia post. An operative agent entered into one of three minibuses with believers and asked to show magazines "Watchtower". There were no such magazines, and believers were allowed to continue their way. But in some 20-30 minutes they were returned to the post. Although militiamen found nothing suspicious and released the minibuses, the believers were late for the service. According to Grigory Martynov, press-secretary of the above Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses, this was a violation of their rights.