Russia Expands Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses

[Isabella]

Russian authorities opened a criminal case this week against five Jehovah’s Witnesses on suspicion of “organizing and participating in the activities of an extremist organization” for allegedly promoting their namesake religious group, which is officially outlawed as an “extremist ideology” in Russia.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, its main federal investigating body, announced the criminal case in a statement issued March 4.

Five residents of the city of Syktyvkar, in Russia’s northwestern Komi Republic, allegedly “carried out active organizational actions aimed at continuation of the organization’s illegal activities and the involvement of new participants in it” over a four-year period between 2017 and 2021.

“In particular, acting in secrecy, they carried out general management of the organization’s activities, coordinated illegal activities, organized and held meetings of members of a banned organization, and collected funds to finance the activities of a banned extremist organization,” according to the statement.

Read more: https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/03/06/russia-expands-persecution-of-jehovahs-witnesses/