A Series of Searches Took Place in Kuban. Three Criminal Cases Were Initiated Against Jehovah's Witnesses

On January 28, 2022, a series of searches and interrogations took place in the Krasnodar Territory. Criminal cases have been initiated against at least three peaceful believers: 64-year-old Pavel Sidorenko, 61-year-old Aleksey Lelikov and 50-year-old Anatoliy Yevtushenko.

Searches began around 6:30 in the morning and lasted about five hours, after which the men were taken for interrogation to the Krasnodar Territory FSB and then released. There were no reports of physical force or other violent actions towards the believers.

During the search of the Sidorenko's house in Prigorodny, their adult daughter, who has a serious diagnosis, had a seizure. Law enforcement officers seized a laptop, phones, SIM-cards and memory cards, a Bible symphony and personal records from the family. The case was initiated against Pavel Sidorenko on suspicion of participation in extremist activity (part 2 article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). He signed a pledge not to leave.

The search of Alexey Lelikov's house was led by FSB Lieutenant Colonel Nikita Rudenko. The law enforcement officers seized literature, not included in the list of prohibited items: a book by religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko and an atlas of ancient Israel. In addition, they seized laptops, phones and plastic folders in which the utility receipts were kept.

The criminal case against Lelikov was opened by senior investigator Anton Poltoratsky on January 20, 2022. The believer is suspected of continuing the activities of a banned organization (part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code), "undermining the foundations of the constitutional order and state security," which was expressed through reading the Bible and preaching, a common practice of Jehovah's Witnesses which is not prohibited in Russia. Lelikov's wife and daughter are witnesses in the case.

There have already been 15 criminal cases in the Krasnodar Territory for practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. At the same time, the Plenum of the Supreme Court ruled that holding peaceful worship services cannot be considered a crime by itself.