Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses Is Underway in 68 Regions of the Russian Federation. Security Officials Raided Believers in Kurgan and Shadrinsk

On the morning of 14 July 2021, searches were conducted in the homes of at least 8 families of local Jehovah's Witnesses in Kurgan and Shadrinsk. According to preliminary data, at least 13 peaceful believers were detained; the location of most of them is not yet known.

One of the searches was of 43 year-old Sergey Skudaev from Kurgan. He was detained and taken to the temporary detention center, awaiting a court decision on pre-trial restraint. A criminal case under the article on extremism was initiated. The case is being led by Nikolay Astapov, an investigator for particularly important cases of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Kurgan region. In the resolution signed by him, the reason for the raid is a meeting of believers via video conference. Investigator Ivan Bezborodov and six other officers took part in the search of Skudayev's apartment, garage and dacha. Electronic gadgets, Bibles, diaries and wedding photos were seized from the believer.

In Kurgan, 49-year-old Valeriy Minsafin and 56-year-old Anatoliy Isakov were also searched. Searches in Isakov's family were carried out at three addresses at once.

The search in the house of Minsafin took place under the supervision of lieutenant colonel of justice, A.V. Tretyakov, investigator of internal affairs department of Kurgan region Investigation Committee, with participation of local FSB and Centre for counteraction to extremism. Some security officers were armed with machine guns. Electronic devices, Bibles in various translations, personal records, and bank cards were seized from the Minsafin family. After the search, the believer was taken to the building of the Investigative Committee in Kurgan (132 Burova-Petrova St.).

According to preliminary information, at least 8 men were detained and taken to Kurgan in the town of Shadrinsk, about 150 km from the regional center.

Kurgan region became the 68th region in Russia where Jehovah's Witnesses are persecuted. The international community and Russian human rights organizations unanimously condemn the actions of the Russian authorities against the followers of this religion.