Terminated criminal prosecution of six Taganrog Jehovah’s Witnesses It was learned that the December 14, 2016 on rehabilitative grounds discontinued criminal proceedings against six of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov region.). This criminal case was the exact repetition of the infamous “sixteen Cases”, which obeys in the courts for nearly four years and which was decided by a verdict of guilty (now believers and defenders of appeal against it to the Supreme Court).
Yet in 2011, six of the faithful, as well as sixteen, caught in prayer and reading the Bible and regarded it as “extremist activity” on the grounds that the court previously been liquidated legal entity – local religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses “Taganrog”. Liquidation of legal entity does not mean that the faithful are deprived of the right to freedom of religion. After many years of investigation it became clear that the actions of the accused is not a crime. Now the faithful must return confiscated from them during searches in 2011, the Bible and other personal property, and two of the accused, 67-year-old spouses Vladimir and Svetlana Chesnokov, will also achieve release of their bank accounts, which are their modest retirement savings.
 
