21 June 2024, 23:50
Case of Jehovah's Witnesses* in Kalmykia fits into trend of persecuting believers in Southern Russia
A court in Elista has conducted interrogations and again moved on to the debate on the case of local Jehovah's Witnesses*. In Southern Russia, a total of 109 believers have been convicted or are under investigation; the first case in Kalmykia has demonstrated the signs of conveyor-belt persecution inherent in other cases, Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses*, has stated.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 5, at a session on the case of Jehovah's Witnesses*, the state prosecution demanded conditional prison terms for the women.
In March 2023, the court placed Kishta Tutinova, a Jehovah's Witness*, under house arrest on charges of organizing extremist activities. Tsagan Khalgaeva and Ekaterina Menkova were initially witnesses, but in December 2023, they were accused of participating in the activities of an extremist organization.
The case against three believers in Kalmykia is an example of conveyor-type trials against Jehovah's Witnesses*, Mr Sivulsky has stated. "From document to document, loud accusations of a 'threat to the state and society' are broadcast. At the same time, in not a single one of hundreds of cases (across Russia, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") there are any real facts of crimes and any victims of believers' actions. There is not a single fact, proving that they did something from the list of extremist acts described in the law. A quarter of those involved in criminal cases for their faith are people over 60 years old," he has emphasized.
Yaroslav Sivulsky has added that in recent years, when believers were sentenced to actual imprisonment, the terms have become more severe. "In 2023, 45 people were sentenced to colony; 32 of them (more than 71%) received five years in jail each," he has specified.
Mr Sivulsky has pointed out that the majority of Jehovah's Witnesses* persecuted by law live in Southern Russia – in the Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region, as well as in the Stavropol Territory – a total of 34 persons; 22 and 15 people were subject to criminal prosecution there, respectively. At the same time, in the Stavropol Territory, two people died during the investigation.
*396 Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as extremist, and their activities in Russia are banned by court's decision.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 21, 2024 at 09:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: СK correspondent
