Religious Strife in Action: In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a Believer Found His Car Damaged With Insults Toward God

On the morning of December 29, 2019, Kirill Mikhailin from the village of Sukhobuzimskoye (Krasnoyarsk Territory) discovered that the windshield of his car was broken, and next to it was a note with an obscene word and a mention of Jehovah God. Kirill's family has been receiving threats in connection with their religion for about a year now.

Someone smashed the windshield with a sledgehammer and tore off the side mirror. The sledgehammer seems to have slipped out of the vandal's hands and remained inside the cabin. A note with profanity left at the crime scene indicates that it was committed precisely on the basis of religious hatred. Kirill and his wife called the police. The suspect, one of the local residents, was questioned the same day.

While studying the case file, investigator Nadezhda Shnitko found a note indicating that the crime was motivated by religious hatred and enmity, and even asked the victims if they professed the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. It is not yet known whether a criminal case has been initiated.

Discrimination, harassment and hatred on the basis of religion, unfortunately, are becoming the norm in our country. The arson of a house, the attack on a 56-year-old woman are just two examples of many. Intolerance towards Jehovah's Witnesses has increased many times since the Supreme Court decision of April 20, 2017. The religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited in Russia.