18:58, 11 April 2024

Elderly believer from Kholmskaya village sent to SIZO

Law enforcers have searched the home of Valery Bailo, a 66-year-old Jehovah's Witness* from the Krasnodar Territory, after which he was placed into custody.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at least five Jehovah's Witnesses* from the village of Kholmskaya in the Krasnodar Territory were sentenced to freedom deprivation. In February 2021, Alexander Ivshin, 63, was sentenced to 7.5 years of freedom deprivation; in March, Oleg Danilov, 46, was sentenced to three years; Alexander Scherbina, 44, was given two years in colony; and in December, Alexander Nikolaev, 48, was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. In January 2022, the court sentenced Vasily Meleshko, 60, to three years in colony.

Valery Bailo, a 66-year-old Jehovah's Witness* was detained and sent to the SIZO (pre-trial prison). Before his arrest, his home was searched, the "OVD-Info"** project has reported.

Bailo was a witness in the criminal case of Alexander Ivshin.

A source from the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses* has reported that the Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region have the most criminal cases initiated against Jehovah's Witnesses* among the regions of Southern Russia.

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

**Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 10, 2024 at 05:17 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot