ST. PETERSBURG, Russia?The harassment of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia continued in November 2010 with several acts of vandalism against their houses of worship. In the Irkutsk Region and Krasnodar Territory, arson attacks were carried out on two Kingdom Halls, where Jehovah’s Witnesses meet for religious services. Vandals also caused damage to the religious building in the city of Lipetsk. The total damages amount to over 160,000 rubles ($5,000 US).
Igor Oshkin, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses was on security detail at the Kingdom Hall in the village of Chunsky, Irkutsk Region, the night of November 15, 2010. He said that the fire alarm went off shortly after the porch and roof caught fire. Thanks to the efforts of local firefighters, the fire was extinguished. An expert examination of the site confirmed that it was an arson attack. According to a preliminary estimation, the damages caused by the fire amount to approximately 90,000 rubles (approximately $3,000 US). Prior to the incident, the Witnesses received threats. Igor Oshkin says: “We are neither scared nor panicking, but we feel as if we are ‘under siege’. So we have buckets of water ready to act in case of any future attempts.”
On the night of November 25, 2010, an explosion occurred in the Kingdom Hall in the city of Labinsk, Krasnodar Territory. It blew apart the inside door and shattered several windowpanes. One of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Sergey Vinokurov, and the husband of one of the congregation members managed to extinguish the fire. The police officers arrived later and found evidence of attempted arson—the remains of four bottles containing a flammable liquid. Damages are estimated at over 69,000 rubles ($2,300 US). Sergey Vinokurov expressed the feelings of the congregation members this way: “We did not hurt anybody, nor did we cause any damage to the property of other people. It is very sad that some individuals express their hostility this way.”
And in the city of Lipetsk, unidentified persons damaged the entrance and destroyed a mailbox of the local Kingdom Hall.
http://jw-media.org/rus/20101209a.htm
