A man from Crimea was detained in Adler because of his …

A 28-year-old resident of occupied Crimea was detained at Adler Airport. He is accused of organizing a Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation.

This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

Searches were conducted at the detainee’s residence. According to the occupying authorities, “banned literature and other illegal materials” were allegedly seized during the investigative proceedings.

The detainee is a resident of the village of Zaprudne. The occupying authorities consider him the organizer of the Alushta branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization, which the Russian government has designated as “extremist.”

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia banned the“Jehovah’s Witnesses”religious community and declared it an “extremist organization.” As a result of this decision, ordinary religious gatherings and Bible readings in Russia have become grounds for searches, criminal cases, and actual prison terms. Subsequently, Russia illegally extended this ban to the occupied territories of Ukraine.

Earlier, Crimean politicalprisoner Volodymyr Maladyka was released from prison after six years of unlawful imprisonment. He was convicted in October 2022 for participating in the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” religious community, which Russia banned in 2017.

The prosecution’s evidence against Volodymyr consisted of videos of four religious services secretly recorded by FSB agents. Following this, the occupying forces conducted mass searches of believers’ homes in Sevastopol.Criminal proceedings were initiated against Volodymyr Maladyka. His case is an example of how Russia persecutes Ukrainian citizens in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea for their religious beliefs.

Юлія Калабайда

The occupying forces detained a Crimean resident at Adler Airport because of his religious beliefs

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