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Searches and Interrogations of Local Jehovah's Witnesses Were Again Held in Chuvashia
ChuvashiaOn June 23, 2021, in the city of Alatyr, located 200 km south of the capital of Chuvashia, Cheboksary, local residents were searched. Security officials suspect them of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. At least seven believers were interrogated.
At about 7 o'clock in the morning, one of the believers was searched by officers of the FSB of Russia for the Chuvash Republic, investigator R.O. They confiscated a tablet, a photo album, a wooden wall plate with the inscription "Jehovah", personal notes and drawings from the woman.
A search also took place in the house of a married couple under the leadership of FSB Major Dmitry Baranov. Mobile phones were seized from the spouses, the head of the family was interrogated in the FSB department, and his wife was interrogated at home because of the child's illness.
During interrogations of seven believers, law enforcement officers asked whether they were members of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses, whether they participated in religious meetings and sermons, whether they made donations; if they know other Jehovah's Witnesses from Cheboksary and from Alatyr.
Alatyr became the second city in the Chuvash Republic, where civilians are persecuted for their faith in Jehovah God.
Update.
On September 2, 2021, searches were carried out in the city of Kanash (Chuvashia), located 100 kilometers north of Alatyr. Investigative actions in both cities appear to be conducted within the framework of the same criminal case, which the FSB opened on June 16, 2021 against unidentified persons under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
On August 31, the judge of the Leninsky District Court of Cheboksary, Yevgeny Egorov, having granted the request of investigator Baranov, issued a search warrant in Ivan Elagin's apartment. He was then interrogated. It is known that the interrogation of Ivan Elagin's brother is scheduled for September 6, 2021. It will be conducted by another investigator, A. G. Grigoriev.
