25 August 2011, 12:00
Mass searches in the houses of Jehovah's Witnesses going on in Taganrog
Today operative groups of the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Federal Security Service are carrying out searches in ten houses of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog and the neighbourhood.
Earlier, the “Caucasian Knot” reported that on December, 8, 2009, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation brought a judgment confirming the verdict of Rostov regional court of September, 11, 2009, which acknowledged local religious organization “Jehovah's Witnesses” – “Taganrog” an extremist one and resolved its liquidation. The trials were initiated by Public prosecutor’s office of Rostov region which considered that the believers “dictated their religious views in public areas and propagandized exceptionality and superiority of their doctrines over all other ones”. On May, 12, the verdict of the Supreme Court was appealed against in the Presidium of the Supreme Court.
“The judgment of liquidation of the juridical person in Taganrog did not cancel the constitutional right of religious freedom. It could not make local Jehovah's Witnesses become atheists or pass to another religion. Now the authorities evidently decided to influence them in another way, i.e. by means of criminal prosecution. Many of Jehovah's Witnesses have very fresh reminiscences of criminal prosecution for faith in the Soviet Union”, lawyer Victor Zhenkov remarked.
“Among other houses, the house of Jehovah's Witnesses Ivan and Anna Kumshatskaya (aged 81 and 80) was searched. Anna is now chained to a wheelchair, besides, the day before she had a hypertensic crisis”, a report of Press service of the office runs.
