In Ulyanovsk, one believer was sent to prison, four were placed under house arrest

On February 28, 2019, Svetlana Chebukina, a judge of the Leninsky District Court of Ulyanovsk, sent 53-year-old Sergey Mysin to jail. The man is accused of "organizing an extremist organization" in connection with his religion. His wife Nataliya, as well as 46-year-old Andriy Tabakov, 33-year-old Khoren Khachikyan and 58-year-old Mikhail Zelensky were placed under house arrest.

The case against residents of Ulyanovsk, who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, was initiated by the local FSB. The believers are accused of "promoting the popularization of the ideas of Jehovah's Witnesses, promoting the superiority of these ideas over other religious teachings, finding venues for meetings of members of this organization, and directly participating in the events held." On February 27, searches were conducted in the apartments.

Sergey Mysin, according to the court order, will be held in SIZO-1 in the Ulyanovsk region until April 23, 2019 inclusive. The man is accused of "organizing an extremist organization" in connection with his religion.

Law enforcers mistakenly mistake citizens' religion for participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Prominent public figures of Russia, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, the President of the Russian Federation, as well as international organizations - the European Union External Action Service, observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - drew attention to this problem. Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to do with extremism and insist on their complete innocence. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually."