Searches of Jehovah's Witnesses took place in Saratov. Two believers under house arrest

 RUSSIA


 Searches of Jehovah's Witnesses took place in Saratov.  Two believers under house arrest

 November 22, 2023 Saratov region


 On November 16, 2023, searches were carried out at at least 6 addresses in Saratov.  They affected at least 13 believers.  47-year-old Alexey Vasilyev and 59-year-old Alexey Efremov were placed in a temporary detention facility, and a day later they were placed under house arrest.


 Investigative actions were authorized by the Volzhsky District Court of Saratov on November 9, 2023, at the request of investigator Bulat Urazov.  The raids began around 6 a.m. and lasted until midday on average.  Security forces seized electronic devices, storage media, personal notes and postcards.  The passport of a Russian citizen was also confiscated from one of the believers.


 After the searches, all believers were interrogated at the local office of the Investigative Committee.  Among them are a disabled woman and a 64-year-old man suffering from heart disease, who became ill during interrogation.  Despite this, he was kept in the investigative department the longest.


 The criminal case on the basis of which the searches took place was initiated on October 31, 2023 under Part 2 of Art.  282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of an extremist organization).


 In the Saratov region, 12 Jehovah's Witnesses have already become defendants in criminal cases for their faith in God: seven of them have served sentences in correctional colonies, the other five men are defending in court their right to profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.


 Russian human rights activists and the world community condemn the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.  The ECHR recognized these persecutions as groundless and illegal.

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