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New Prisoners of Conscience in the Vladimir Region of Russia: Two More Jehovah's Witnesses Sent to Detention Centers
Vladimir RegionOn July 8, 2021, new criminal cases were filed against Jehovah's Witnesses living in the Vladimir region. Aleksey Kupriyanov, 48, from Kovrov, and Roman Adestov, 45, from the village of Ivanovo were interrogated and detained. The next day, the Oktyabrskiy district court of Vladimir put them in custody.
In the early morning of 8 July, law enforcement officers came with searches simultaneously to Kupriyanov and Adestov. Aleksey and Raman were taken for interrogation to the head criminal investigator D.A. Tyumenev. Then the search continued in the presence of the wives of the believers. Law enforcement officers seized electronic devices. A few days before the searches, the Kupriyanovs and Adestovs noticed interruptions in the work of the home Internet and TV receivers.
The search in Kovrov was led by Captain Velichko, a senior FSB operative, and in the village of Ivanovo by junior FSB operative Polyakov.
On June 28, 2021, investigator Tyumenev opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation against Kupriyanov. According to the investigation, the believer "took part in religious meetings ... actively participated in the collection of information on the amount of work done... on the implementation of... the religious teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses ... to the civilian masses." This is how the investigation interprets peaceful discussions of the Bible among friends. Despite the fact that Aleksey has elderly parents who are dependent on him, the court ruled to detain the believer until August 26, 2021.
About five months ago, a criminal case was opened in Kovrov against 66-year-old Boris Simonenko, who is still in jail for his faith in Jehovah God.