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Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

The Komi Republic Has Become the 53rd Region of Russia Where Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Persecuted. A Series of Searches Took Place in the Town of Pechora

January 28, 2020 Komi

In the early morning of January 28, 2020, in the city of Pechora (Komi), groups of law enforcement officers, in some cases numbering 7 people, searched and detained local residents who are suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. The details of what is happening are being clarified.

Case of Polyakevich and Skutelets in Pechora

Case History

In January 2020, security forces searched 12 houses in Pechora. Several people were detained. Among them are Gennadiy Polyakevich and Gennadiy Skutelets. On the same day, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case on extremism against them. The court sent Polyakevich to a pre-trial detention center, where he spent 301 days, and placed Skutelets under house arrest for 364 days. In November 2020, another investigator of the Investigative Committee opened a new criminal case against Nikolay Anufriyev, Eduard Merinkov, Viktor Shchannikov, Aleksandr Vorontsov, and Aleksandr Prilepskiy. They were put on recognizance not to leave. The case went to court in May 2021, and eight months later it was returned to the prosecutor. In December 2022, at the age of 58, Aleksandr Prilepskiy died from the effects of COVID-19. In April 2023, the case went to court again.

Timeline