Charges have been brought against organizers of a Jehovah’s Witnesses chapter in the Orenburg Region in the southern Urals

ORENBURG, May 22. /TASS/. Charges have been brought against organizers of a Jehovah’s Witnesses chapter in the Orenburg Region in the southern Urals, a spokesman for the regional department of Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Tuesday.

“A criminal case has been opened under part 1, Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (organization of activities of a religious organization subject to termination for extremist activities under an enforced court ruling), part 2, Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code (participation in Jehovah’s Witnesses activities), and part 1, Article 282.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (financing extremist activities),” the spokesman said.

 

 

According to the investigators, nine persons were found to be engaged in the activities of the regional chapter of Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization since April 2017. They organized the chapter’s meetings and recruited new members. Three of them were detained last week, with two being later put in custody and one placed under house arrest. The rest were slapped with travel restrictions.

Law enforcement officials seized a large amount of printed materials and electronic storage devices from their places of residence.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international religious organization that supports offbeat views on the essence of the Christian faith and provides special interpretations of many commonly accepted notions.

The organization was classified as extremist and outlawed in Russia in 2017.