A new wave of raids against Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Kemerovo Region. Yuriy Usanov, 29, is arrested in the town of Tayga

On April 2, 2021, a series of searches took place in Jehovah's Witnesses homes in the city of Taiga (Kemerovo Region). Yuriy Usanov, 29, was arrested and sent to a pre-trial detention center in the city of Anzhero-Sudzhensk. A criminal case was opened against him under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; three pensioners are witnesses in the case.

Early in the morning on April 2, a search took place in Yuriy Usanov's apartment, after which he stopped communicating. His worried friends came to his house and found that the bars had been removed from the window, and the glass had been broken. Police was on duty at the entrance. As seen from the case files, the believer "committed actions of an organizational nature aimed at the continuation and renewal of the illegal activities of the banned organization 'Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia' in the form of convening meetings with the participation of residents of the city of Taiga."

On April 2, the judge of the Taiga City Court of the Kemerovo Region F. V. Timofeev chose a preventive measure for Yuriy Usanov in the form of arrest until May 30. He is currently held in SIZO-4 of Anzhero-Sudzhensk.

In the apartments of 72-year-old Nataliya Kozlova and 65-year-old Zinaida Vasina, visually impaired, law enforcement officers entered under a disguise of their neighbors. Once inside, they announced: "We are looking for everything connected with your God Jehovah." The searches lasted about 3 hours. Electronic devices, Bibles in various translations, personal notes, postcards with the words "God" and "Jehovah", bank cards and a Wi-Fi router were seized from Nataliya and Zinaida. The women were then taken to the investigative committee for questioning. The security forces were waiting for 69-year-old Lyudmila Gorovaya near her house, from where she was taken for interrogation, which lasted 3 hours.

The investigator was interested in whether the women knew Yuriy Usanov, whether they gave him money, whether he offered them literature, whether he involved them in any organization. The siloviki threatened the pensioners that their relatives would have problems at work. Older women have experienced severe stress.

The searches were carried out by officers of the FSB and the Investigative Committee on the basis of a decree issued by the Deputy Head of the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Major of Justice Y. V. Dudin. Yuriy Usanov became the 8th citizen of the Kemerovo region who was subjected to religious discrimination for believing in Jehovah.