Case History
In June 2024, an investigator from the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against three Jehovah’s Witnesses from Izhevsk. A day later, searches were conducted in the believers’ apartments. After interrogations, they were charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization. The investigation considered holding peaceful religious services and reading the Holy Scriptures online to be a crime. The believers’ accounts and property were seized. The court ordered a ban on certain actions against Valeriy Knyazev and Indus Talipov. Aleksandr Stefanidin was sent to a pre-trial detention center, and after almost 5 months, he was placed under house arrest. In December 2024, the case went to court.