Since January 2018, law-enforcement officers have targeted Jehovah’s Witnesses with increasing frequency.

April 20, 2018, Shuya, Ivanovo Region: Law-enforcement officers searched the homes of four Witnesses. The officers took Dmitriy Mikhailov to the police station, placed him in custody, and later released him. The authorities opened a criminal investigation and charged him under Article 282.2(2) of the Criminal Code with ‘participating in the activity of an extremist organization.’ He is not allowed to travel outside of Shuya until further notice.

April 19, 2018, Vladivostok: Police and the Federal Security Service (FSB) raided an apartment and took Valentin Osadchuk and three elderly women to the police station for interrogation. The authorities charged Mr. Osadchuk under 282.2(2) of the Criminal Code, which carries a prison sentence of two to four years, and put him in pretrial detention. On April 23, the Frunzenskiy District Court ordered to keep Mr. Osadchuk in pretrial detention until June 20, 2018. He is currently being detained at Investigation Prison No. 1 in Vladivostok.

April 18, 2018, Polyarny, Murmansk Region: Late in the evening, police and masked OMON officers carrying machine guns broke through the door of Roman Markin’s home. Officers forced him to the floor at gunpoint. His teenage daughter, on seeing the armed officers, immediately dropped to the floor and covered her head with her arms. The police searched the premises, after which they took Mr. Markin to the police station and placed him in pretrial detention.

That same evening, police searched the homes of 14 other Witnesses in the area and confiscated cell phones, electronic tablets, and other personal belongings. Police then took the Witnesses to the police station for interrogation. Local authorities initiated a criminal case against Mr. Markin, as well as against another local Witness, Viktor Trofimov. Both were charged under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code with ‘organizing the activity of an extremist organization.’ If convicted, they face prison sentences of from six to ten years. Both men remain in pretrial detention in Prison No. 1 in Murmansk.

April 10, 2018, Zaton District, Ufa: Between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., investigators and OMON officers raided and searched the homes of several Witnesses. During the searches, officers interrogated the Witnesses. In one case, an officer told one of the victims: “You will be let go as soon as you state that you are not a member of the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” In another case, an officer told a victim: “We are ridding the earth of you.” All the Witnesses were taken to the police station for fingerprinting and further questioning.

While raiding the home of Mr. and Mrs. Khafizov, officers pointed their weapons at the couple and began searching the premises. After the search, a policeman grabbed Mrs. Khafizova by the arm, shoved her into the police car, and took her to the station for interrogation. Mr. Khafizov is not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Anatoliy and Alyona Vilitkevich, prior to his arrest

Officers raided the home of Anatoliy Vilitkevich and arrested him. They told his wife that she would not see her husband “for a long time.” Authorities have charged him under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code with ‘organizing the activity of an extremist organization’ and are holding him in pretrial detention until June 2, 2018. If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison.

March 2018, Oryol: In addition to the ongoing criminal case of Dennis Christensen, the authorities initiated a second criminal investigation against another Witness, Sergey Skrynnikov, following the searches of seven homes in Oryol in May 2017. Mr. Skrynnikov has not yet been indicted. He is being charged under Article 282.2(2) with ‘participating in the activity of an extremist organization.’ If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of two to four years.

February 7, 2018, Belgorod: Large groups of law-enforcement officers raided at least ten homes of the Witnesses. The officers forcibly threw several of the homeowners to the floor or pinned them to the wall. The police searched the homes and confiscated electronic devices, passports, photographs, and money. They then took all the Witnesses to the police station, interrogated them, and released all of them except Anatoly Shalyapin and Sergei Voikov. Police detained the two men for 48 hours before finally releasing them. However, both men are not allowed to travel outside of Belgorod.

January 23, 2018, Kemerovo: Police raided and searched 12 homes of the Witnesses and confiscated all electronic devices, religious literature, and many documents. Prior to the raids, a man pretending to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses had attended the Witnesses’ meetings and secretly recorded them and then gave the recordings to the police. Based on these recordings, the authorities initiated a criminal investigation.