One of Jehovah's Witnesses Detained in Arkhangelsk

On the morning of February 18, 2019, unidentified law enforcement officers invaded the house of 39-year-old Arkhangelsk resident Yevgeny Yakku. After the search, he was taken away in an unknown direction and did not return home. Friends managed to find out that on February 19, 2019, a meeting was scheduled for February 19, 2019 in the Lomonosov District Court of Arkhangelsk to elect a preventive measure.

Law enforcers mistakenly mistake citizens' religion for participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Prominent public figures of Russia, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, as well as international organizations - the European Union External Action Service, observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - drew attention to this problem. Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to do with extremism and insist on their complete innocence. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually."

Updated: On February 19, 2019, Yevgeny Sharapov, judge of the Lomonosov District Court of Arkhangelsk, imposed a ban on Yevgeniy Yakku from leaving his home at night, holding "meetings and gatherings" at home, using the Internet, telephone, mail, and communicating with participants in the criminal proceedings.