The Moscow City Court will review the house arrest of 3 believers. Dramatic details of the raid in Chekhov near Moscow

On November 7, 2019, the Moscow City Court will consider the complaints of believers from Chekhov near Moscow. It became known that the security forces invaded their homes after midnight, that money and tools were stolen during the searches, that after the detention people were not fed until 36 hours, that one of the relatives was broken by the security forces.

How did it all start? In June 2018, one of the believers, while waiting for a train at the station, got into a conversation with a certain Stanislav. This Stanislav (his surname is Kuznetsky), hiding that he worked in the FSB, asked the believer to help him understand the Bible. During the year, he met with the believer several times and, sitting in the car, complained about family troubles, asked for Bible advice and asked the believer about his like-minded people. As a result, a criminal case was formed on the basis of his testimony.

Chekhov residents, who profess the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, were lifted from their beds on the night of October 3, 2019. The night searches were followed by many hours of interrogations in the Main Investigation Department for the Moscow Region (at 38/2 Komintern Street in Moscow). By the evening of the next day, they were sent to a temporary detention facility (IVS), and on October 4, 2019, they were taken to the Babushkinsky District Court, which chose a measure of restraint against them in the form of house arrest, equating the peaceful practice of religion with a serious crime.

Raid on the family of Konstantin Zherebtsov and theft. At 00:15, when 46-year-old Konstantin, his wife and 9-year-old daughter, as well as his parents and a relative who was visiting them, were sleeping, an investigator, operatives and witnesses broke into the house. Konstantin was placed facing the wall, all the others were gathered in one room, so that they could not observe the search, which lasted until 4:30 in the morning. They seized laptops, phones, tablets, a camera, documents. Believers report that personal savings (a total of 33 thousand rubles) were stolen from wallets and from the closet, which the believers stated to the investigator, Lieutenant Colonel of Justice Yuri Kobyletsky, to which he expressed his surprise. After the search, the loss of power tools was discovered. 20 hours after the start of the search, Konstantin was taken to the temporary detention facility, where he was fed for the first time. The next day he was handcuffed in Babushkinsky district court, where judge Evgenia Babinova sent him under house arrest. Damage to the health of a relative. During a search of the Zherebtsov family, investigators found the second half of the house (with a separate address), which belongs to Konstantin's brother. They raided my brother there as well, hitting my brother and breaking his rib, which was later recorded during the examination. The man is forced to take sick leave. After the search, my brother's power tools also disappeared. Why is Zherebtsov persecuted? According to investigators, while sitting in the car, Konstantin "organized a meeting with [FSB officer] S.V. Kuznetsky, taught him how to pray to Jehovah God, explained the provisions and interpretation of the chapters of the Bible, John 5:28-29, Revelation 20:13, Acts 24:15, showing them on a tablet belonging to S.V. Kuznetsky."

Raid on the apartment of Vitaly Nikiforov. At 00:20, an investigator, a district police officer, operatives and witnesses, a total of 8 people, entered the apartment of the 51-year-old believer. The "guests" were dispersed around the rooms, so that it was not possible to follow the progress of the search. They seized 2 computers (one working), tablet, phones, bank cards, flash cards. The search ended at 05:15 a.m., after which he was taken for interrogation to Comintern Street. By evening, he was sent to the temporary detention center, where he was fed for the first time. The next morning, handcuffed, he was taken to the Babushkinsky District Court for a preventive measure, where he remained without food until 9:30 p.m. He was placed under house arrest. Why is Nikiforov being persecuted? Vitaliy works as a computer programmer. According to investigators, on January 11, 2019, while sitting in a car, he "discussed the issue of buying a tablet [by FSB officer] Kuznetsky for the subsequent download of prohibited literature," and also "reported the circumstances of his acceptance of this faith." (In fact, Nikiforov, as a technical specialist, only shared his experience of which technique works best. Thus, the investigation, followed by Judge Yevgenia Babinov, considers advising on the purchase of a tablet as one of the grounds for depriving a person of liberty.)

Raid on the apartment of Zinaida Krutyakova. When Zinaida came home to feed her mother, who suffered from senile dementia, she found that the house had been searched for more than an hour. Unbanned books with an explanation of the Bible were found and seized from her. (She later discovered that 1,000 rubles had disappeared from the handbag.) After the search, she was sent for interrogation to Moscow, and after interrogation, to the temporary detention center. She had the opportunity to eat only the next morning, 36 hours after her arrest. After that, she was taken in handcuffs to the Babushkinsky District Court, where she waited until 19:00 for Judge Evgenia Babinova to consider the case. She was placed under house arrest. Why is Krutyakova persecuted? Zinaida was detained on the grounds that she, sitting in a car parked on Vokzalnaya Square in Chekhov, "questioned [FSB officer] S.V. Kuznetsky about how he did his homework on studying the chapters of the Bible with the subsequent interpretation of its provisions." (Thus, Zinaida Krutyakova was detained for professing her faith and sharing her beliefs with Kuznetsky in accordance with Article 28 of the Constitution.)

The appeal hearing for house arrest will be held on November 7, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. in the Moscow City Court at 8 Bogorodsky Val, Moscow.

Update. On November 7, 2019, at 15:20, it became known that the Moscow City Court upheld house arrest for Chekhov resident Vitaly Nikiforov. The fate of Konstantin Zherebtsov and Zinaida Krutyakova is still being decided