In Gryazi Town 5 Believers Imprisoned for Talking About God, Among Them a 67-year-old Woman

On November 16, 2020 the Investigative Committee and OMON officers conducted searches at 9 addresses of believers in Gryazi town in Lipetsk region. Five believers, including a pensioner, had already spent the night in the detention center. The court will decide on their further restraint. Another 7 people were released by the law enforcers after the interrogation.

On November 17, the day after their arrest, 42-year-old Sergey Kretov and 46-year-old Yevgeniy Reshetnikov were charged under Article 282.2(1) of the Criminal Code. The Gryazinsky City Court chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention for peaceful believers. Information on the situation of the remaining detainees is being clarified.

The searches were carried out on the basis of 5 criminal cases initiated by an investigator of the first department for investigation of especially important cases of the Investigative Directorate of the Lipetsk region under part 1 and 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization and participation in activities of an extremist organization). Electronic devices and personal documents were seized from believers. In the nearest future the court will decide on the measure of restraint in relation to the detainees.

According to the investigation, believers, professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, conducted worship services and sermons. The police interpreted such peaceful religious activity as continuation of the banned religious organization, although the Jehovah's Witnesses religion is not banned in Russia. An official report from the Investigative Committee states that "during the meetings, the suspects discussed religious intolerance towards representatives of other faiths with those who came". In the near future, the court will either require the investigator to prove the allegation - and then release the believers from custody, or take his word for it - and impose a preventive measure on the believers.

The security forces interpret such peaceful religious activity as a continuation of the activities of a banned religious organization, although the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is not prohibited in Russia.

Previously, three local residents had been prosecuted for their faith in Lipetsk region and held in a detention center for almost a year. At the end of October 2020, the court released them on their own recognizance.