Russia raids Jehovah’s Witness homes, launches criminal probe

Russian investigators said Tuesday they have opened a criminal investigation into the Jehovah’s Witnesses for extremist activities and conducted raids in more than 20 regions as Moscow pursues a crackdown on the US-based movement.

Russia outlawed the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017, labelling them an extremist organisation and has since sentenced several members to lengthy jail terms.

The Investigative Committee, a body charged with probing major crimes, said in a statement that it had opened a fresh criminal case into the organisation for conducting “conspiratorial gatherings” in an apartment in Moscow since June 2019.

“The followers studied religious literature and information contained in other sources of information propagating the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” the statement said, adding that the members recruited others to join the group.

Investigators on Tuesday also said that they had conducted raids against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow and more than 20 regions across Russia with the help of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia).

Video released along with the Investigative Committee’s statement showed men dressed in black with balaclavas breaking into an apartment.

The video ended with an image showing bills of various denominations, including US dollars, and an open book with its text blurred.

A spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, Yaroslav Sivulsky, dismissed the accusations as “absolute nonsense”.

“What they’re doing is trying to make simple believers look dangerous,” Sivulsky told AFP.

Although President Vladimir Putin said last year that Jehovah’s Witnesses should not be considered terrorists, Moscow has continued cracking down on the group.

“No one can even explain why Jehovah’s Witnesses are extremist. The president doesn’t even understand,” Sivulsky said.

Founded in the United States in the late 19th century, the religious movement has been repeatedly accused of refusing to respect state symbols such as flags.

The Russian Orthodox Church has spoken out against the group, with one Church official branding it a “destructive sect”.