Searches in Tolyatti: Armed Security Forces Entered Believers Through a Window

On September 21, 2022, searches were carried out in the homes of two believers, Vladimir Zubkov and Aleksandr Chagan, in Tolyatti (Samara Region). The latter spent two days in the TDF and was released on bail.

At around 7:30 p. m., when Vladimir Zubkov, 71, was talking to friends via video conference, 12 people burst in, some of them armed. The believer's son, 33, was forced to lie on the floor. Electronic devices, bank cards and various translations of the Bible were confiscated from the family. Then the Zubkovs were taken for interrogation to the Investigative Committee and released home after midnight.

Aleksandr Chagan, 51, saw a capture group at the same time, squeezing out the window. They ordered everyone to lie on the floor and handcuffed the head of the family. The security forces did not show any documents. While one insulted the believers, the others behaved more correctly. Electronic devices, storage media, bank cards and cash (about 28,000 rubles) were confiscated from the family. After the search, the believers were taken away for interrogation, having been warned that Aleksandr would never return home.

During interrogation at the Investigative Committee, according to the believer, one of the officers threatened to torture him and kept him face down on the floor for about an hour and a half. After 2 a. m., Chagan was interrogated by investigator Ruslan Mgoyan. Then, already in the morning, the believer was placed in a temporary detention facility. On September 23, the court released him on bail.

This is the second criminal case against believers in the Samara region. Four of them—Sergey Polosenko, Denis Kuzyanin, Nikolay Vasiliyev and Aram Danielyan—are in the detention centre.