Thirty-seven Jehovah's Witnesses* in Southern Russia are under inquiry after MoJ's lawsuit

Over almost three years after the decision of the Russian Supreme Court to liquidate all the organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses, announced as extremist, hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses* in different regions of Russia were criminally prosecuted. By March 5, 2020, the number of such believers has reached at least 320, says the website containing information about criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses*. Almost 12% of them are residents of Southern Russia, the "Caucasian Knot" has counted.

Criminal cases have been opened against 16 Jehovah's Witnesses* in the Southern Federal District (SFD) of Russia: two in the Krasnodar Territory, five in the Volgograd Region and nine in the Rostov Region. The case of the Volgograd believers has already reached the court; it is now at the stage of interrogating prosecution witnesses. The cases of the remaining 11 believers are still at the pre-trial investigation stage. Five out of 16 believers are under arrest at SIZO (pre-trial prison): two in the Krasnodar Territory and three in Rostov-on-Don.

In the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) of Russia, at least 21 Jehovah's Witnesses* have faced criminal prosecution after a lawsuit lodged by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ): four in Dagestan, 15 in the Stavropol Territory (three in Neftekumsk, three in Georgievsk and nine in Nevinnomyssk); and one in Karachay-Cherkessia and in Kabardino-Balkaria each. Six of them are under arrest in SIZO: four Dagestan believers and one in Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Territory each.

* 396 Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as extremist, and their activities are banned in Russia by the court's decision

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 6, 2020 at 01:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.