How Jehovah's Witnesses Are Persecuted in Karachay-Cherkessia: 2010–2020

At least until February 11, 2020, 43-year-old Circassian Albert Batchaev will be in jail. What events in the republic preceded his arrest over the past 10 years?

The difficulties of believers in this republic began long before the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regarding Jehovah's Witnesses. However, if from 2010 to 2016 there were about 5 cases of harassment for faith in the republic, then in 2019 alone there were already 2. Here is a list of known incidents in chronological order.

04.09.2010, Cherkessk. Two believing women, 70-year-old E. Turok and A. Ciobanu, were detained during a conversation with neighbors and taken to the Main Directorate for Countering Extremism (CPE) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Karachay-Cherkessia. They stayed there for 8 hours. Interrogation and inspection of personal belongings was carried out by Senior Lieutenant F. Erkelova. Mobile phones and religious literature were seized from the women. Even then, employees of the Center for Counteracting Extremism threatened believers with searches and arrest. During a subsequent search of E. Turok's house, several books were seized.

13.05.2011, Nikolaevskoye village. Three Jehovah's Witnesses were detained and taken to the police station as they returned to their home in their own car. At the police station, the believers were interrogated about their religious activities, copies of passports were made, photographed and fingerprints were taken, after which they were released.

13.08.2013, Kosta-Khetagurova village. FSB officers A. Kokhov, M. Dyachenko, O. Netkacheva, as well as S. Kosenko, an expert of the Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, came home to 72-year-old V. Kolieva and her relative L. Kolieva for "inspection of the premises". Law enforcers presented a ruling from the Karachai City Court, which stated that the Kolievs were engaged in "reading and distributing extremist literature." During the inspection, which looked more like a search, all religious literature was seized. The believers filed a complaint with the court.

June 2015, Cherkessk. Vladimir Mirzoyan, a 53-year-old Jehovah's Witness, was beaten twice and mistreated by police officers. During the first interview, under severe pressure, he was forced to sign an explanation prepared in advance by the police, but the next morning he filed complaints against law enforcement officers. After that, he was subjected to even more severe bullying: beaten in the face and stomach, threatened relatives, demanding that he retract his statement. As a result, the believer was forced to seek medical help. The reason for such actions was the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Cherkessk, which interfered with the construction of retail space and, according to the prosecutor's office, was subject to confiscation for alleged "extremist activities" of believers. Later, publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, previously included in the list of extremist materials, were planted in the building and then "discovered".

20.09.2016, p. Mednogorsky and s. Kurdzhinovo. FSB officers conducted "surveys", in fact searches, in 4 houses of Jehovah's Witnesses. The judge of the Supreme Court of the KCR, Islam Gerbekov, who authorized the special event, explained this by the fact that one of the believers, Svetlana Isaeva, who lives in Mednogorskoye, allegedly engaged in involving others in her religion and allegedly distributed books included in the list of extremist materials among her like-minded people. A week later, the FSB officer conducting the search returned to Svetlana Isaeva and demanded that she change her testimony by confessing to distributing extremist literature. The woman refused to incriminate herself.

01.06.2019, Ordzhonikidze village. The security forces searched 42-year-old Indira, who is raising four children alone. The search took place in the presence of the woman's three minor children. For two hours, the operatives searched for "extremist" literature, even checking a school textbook. One of them asked if Indira knew that the court had banned Russian Jehovah's Witnesses organizations. According to the woman, the head of the group said that he had nothing against Jehovah's Witnesses, "just doing his job." Unable to find literature, the security forces apologized and left. According to Indira, she had previously noticed surveillance of herself in Karachaevsk.

16.12.2019, Cherkessk. After a series of searches, 43-year-old Albert Batchaev was arrested for 2 months. He is still being held in a pre-trial detention center.

Believers hope that the " systemic and institutionalized persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia will end, and the victims will be rehabilitated. At the moment, only four believers from three regions of the country have been acquitted and/or rehabilitated: Arkadya Akopyan, Andrey Sivak, Vyacheslav Stepanov and Kaleria Mamykina.