Russia Opens ‘Extremism’ Case Against Four Jehovah’s Witnesses In Siberia

Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against four Jehovah’s Witnesses in Siberia, in the latest persecution against the religious group.

The Investigative Committee in the Tomsk region charged the four believers for participating in an extremist group, the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia said on March 29.

The four were identified as Sergei Belousov, Andrei Kolesnichenko, Aleksei Ershov, and Andrei Ledyaykin.

The case was opened in Seversk, a closed city due to its nuclear and chemical facilities.

Russia labeled the Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist group and banned it in 2017, leading to a wave of court cases and prison sentences against its members.

For decades, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.

The Christian group is known for door-to-door preaching, close Bible study, rejection of military service, and not celebrating national and religious holidays or birthdays.

Source: www.rferl.org
Opinion
Garry KASPAROV. The United States Cannot Descend Into Authoritarianism
Garry KASPAROV: “In a war you have to choose a side”
Leonid GOZMAN. Russian Political Prisoners Are Heroes, Even if the World Doesn’t Know Their Name
Garry KASPAROV, Mikhail KHODORKOVSKY: A Free Russia passport could undermine Putin
Garry KASPAROV. We Need Regime Change in Iran and Russia
Video
Video
Summaries of September “elections” (debates)
News
Ukraine struck Russia for the first time with an ATACMS missile, hitting a weapons arsenal near Bryansk
Erdogan is going to offer Zelenskyy to “freeze” the war and postpone Ukraine’s accession to NATO
Authorities in regions bordering Ukraine think about removing relatives after the West’s permission to hit Russia with missiles
Russian attack on Sumy by “Shaheds” left a family of three dead
French defense minister urged to discuss stationing ‘non-nuclear forces’ in Ukraine to deter Russia
All News
Home / News / Russia Opens ‘Extremism’ Case Against Four Jehovah’s Witnesses In Siberia
© 2016-2024 The Free Russia Forum