Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian Federation report on 19 facts of intolerance towards them in July, including one in Southern Russia

In July 2012, the organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" registered in the territory of Russia 19 cases of religious intolerance to them, including one case in the southern part of the Russian Federation in Kalmykia. This was reported today by the administration centre of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia.

According to believers, the most common violations were represented by searches in houses, accompanied by rude actions of armed riot police officers in masks five such incidents were registered, and all of them occurred in Karelia.

Besides, in July, there were four arrests and detentions of believers as a result of criminal prosecution on charges of extremism. All cases were registered in Chuvashia. According to investigators, the believers are suspected of creating "an extremist community" and inciting hatred and enmity, the website of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) reports.

In July, three cases of disruption of public worships, committed by representatives of the authorities (in the Murmansk, Kemerovo and Saratov Regions), and three cases of detention during sermons (in the Kirov and Tver Region, and Tatarstan) were registered. Sometimes, detainees were brought to OVD (Interior Division) and were subjected to personal search, the report of the administration centre of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" states.

One attack on the place, where the "Jehovah's Witnesses" planned to perform a three-day worship, was committed in Udmurtia a package with an incendiary compound was thrown into a scene. And one more "unreasonable extraordinary inspection of the supervisory state bodies" was conducted in Saint Petersburg.

According to the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia, in Southern Russia, the incident was registered in Kalmykia. On July 17, at about 10:00 a.m., in Elista, E. Mandjikorniev, the investigator of the Centre to Combat Extremism (CCE) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in the Republic of Kalmykia, and V. Makaev, Assistant Prosecutor, came to the working place of V. Sarankaev, a member of the religious organization. They called the believer to the checkpoint and gave him a warning for inadmissibility of violating the law, the report of the religious organization states without further details.

Till present, no response of the law enforcement agencies to the statistic data of the religious organization "Jehovah's Witnesses" has been reported.