Law Enforcement Authorities of Transbaikalia Broke a Sad Record: On February 10, Searches Were Conducted in 50 Homes of Believers

Previous anti-records were recorded in Sochi (36 searches) and Nizhny Novgorod (35 searches). Law enforcement officers from other regions participated in each of the raids. Following the Supreme Court's decision against Jehovah's Witnesses, as of the end of February 2020, searches were conducted in 869 apartments of believers.

The Investigative Committee officially announced that before the raids, more than 30 investigative and operational groups were formed, which operated in Chita and areas of the Trans-Baikal Territory.

In total, on February 10, 2020, searches were carried out in 14 settlements: Chita (20 searches), Khilok (4 searches), Krasnokamensk (4 searches), Baley (3 searches) and Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky (2 searches), the villages of Yasnogorsk (5 searches), Amazar (4 searches), Duldurga (2 searches), Verkhnyaya Hila (1 search), Kurort-Darasun (1 search) and Pervomaiskoye (1 search), as well as in the villages of Verkh-Chita (1 search), Zasopka (1 search) and Ilya (1 search). During the storming of one of the apartments in Chita, law enforcement officers brutally beat 17-year-old Alexander Karpov (injuries were recorded, the actions of law enforcement officers are being appealed).

During the day, law enforcement officers took 27 people to the investigating authorities, including 8 women, including those of retirement age. Most of them were released home after interrogation, but four were detained and placed in a temporary detention facility. One of them was later placed under house arrest, and three more left the detention center after 5 days.

At least one of the believers, Vadim Kutsenko, said that law enforcement officers tortured him with a stun gun. He was handcuffed behind his back, his eyes were closed and taken to the forest, where he was beaten, strangled and electrocuted in the lower leg and abdomen, demanding a confession.

Vadim Kutsenko and other believers complained about the actions of law enforcement officers to the relevant authorities.

It is known that a criminal case for faith was initiated against at least 6 Chita residents.