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Russia opens new criminal probe into Jehovah’s Witnesses

  • November 24, 2020

Russia on Tuesday opened a new criminal case into Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Russian Investigative Committee said, adding that the religion’s management centre had illegally resumed working.

Investigators said searches were under way in more than 20 different regions across the country.

Russia’s Supreme Court banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 and declared the religious group an extremist organization.

Judges ordered it to disband and authorities launched a crackdown on the religion’s adherents.

The situation for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

According to human rights groups, hundreds of followers are facing criminal cases in Russia, with dozens either imprisonedor awaiting trials.

Among them, Danish citizen Dennis Christensen has remained behind bars the longest following his detention in May 2017. A court in central Russia convicted him almost two years later.

In July, Human Rights Watch said Russia “has absolutely nothing to gain from the pointless, cruel, and abusive persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” urging the authorities to “immediately free Christensen and stop wasting time and resources on these prosecutions.”

Dennis Christensen, a Danish Jehovah's Witness accused of extremism, is escorted into a courtroom to hear his verdict

Dennis Christensen is escorted into a courtroom to hear his verdict

In September 2019, the US banned two high-ranking regional officers from Russia’s Investigative Committee from entering the United States over the alleged torture of seven detainees who are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Jehovah’s Witnesses identify as Christians. They believe the Bible, of which they have their own translation, was inspired by God and is historically accurate. Observant members of the religion also say Jesus is his firstborn son and inferior to God.

jf/rt (AP, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/russia-opens-new-criminal-probe-into-jehovah-s-witnesses/a-55707807?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

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