Russia

Vladimir Putin: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are also Christians, for which I do not understand them too much”

“This is complete nonsense, you need to carefully deal with this,” Vladimir Putin commented on theinclusion of Jehovah's Witnesses in the list of extremist organizations. The corresponding question was asked of him at a meeting...

RUSSIA: Criminal investigations against 69 Jehovah’s Witnesses

Amid continuing police, FSB and Investigative Committee raids across Russia, 69 Jehovah's Witnesses are now facing criminal investigations. Of these, 25 are in detention, 9 under house arrest, and 30 under travel restrictions. Three trials...

Stop prosecuting Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia – Kremlin advisers

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Advisers to President Vladimir Putin have questioned the legality of a slew of criminal cases opened against members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and asked the General Prosecutor’s office to protect...

RUSSIA: 53 Jehovah’s Witnesses facing criminal prosecution – list

Full list of 53 Jehovah's Witnesses charged or named as suspects or currently on trial for "extremism"-related offences as of 11 July 2018. Of these, 22 are in detention, 3 under house arrest and 27...

Russia – Criminal prosecutions of 50+ Jehovah’s Witnesses

Prosecutors are investigating at least 50 Jehovah's Witnesses in 16 Russian regions on "extremism" criminal charges. Of these, 21 men and 1 woman are known to be in detention, with 3 more under house arrest...

RUSSIA: Further raids, arrests of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Law enforcement agencies launched multiple armed raids on Jehovah's Witnesses' homes in four further regions. Long interrogations followed, including of an 83-year-old woman. Courts put another five people in pre-trial custody as they face criminal...

Russia is rounding up Jehovah’s Witnesses—are other groups next?

It was just after sunrise on April 10 when the doorbell  rang at Anatoly and Alyona Vilitkevich’s apartment in Ufa, an industrial city in central Russia. Their early morning visitors: masked police officers armed with...

Criminal charges brought against Jehovah’s Witnesses recruiters in Orenburg region

Charges have been brought against organizers of a Jehovah’s Witnesses chapter in the Orenburg Region in the southern UralsORENBURG, May 22. /TASS/. Charges have been brought against organizers of a Jehovah’s Witnesses chapter in the...

Intensifying Crackdown on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Russia

Ensuring respect for the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief is a pillar of our shared OSCE commitments and the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security. As recently as the Kyiv Ministerial meeting in 2013,...

The Court of Appeal legalized the seizure of property in the village of Solnechnoye in St. Petersburg

The complex of real estate worth about 2 billion rubles will be confiscated from the foreign organization "Watchtower Society, Bibles and Treatises of Pennsylvania". On May 3, 2018, the St. Petersburg City Court upheld the decision of the...