New Searches at Homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Tambov Region

On May 29, 2023, at least two married couples professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses were searched in the Tambov Region.

At about 11 a.m., the believer received a phone call, allegedly from a district police officer who said that he could not get into his dwelling for a "door-to-door tour." Finding out that the man was at work, the officer asked him to call back when he was at home. About an hour later, the same person called the believer again and introduced himself as an officer of the Investigative Committee, saying that he had a search warrant.

Around noon, Investigator P. V. Salnikov, accompanied by an officer of the FSB and two witnesses, began a search of the home of this married couple in the village of Krasnenkaya. Law enforcement officers seized electronic devices, storage media, notes, drawings, and postcards. Only the wife was at home. After the search, she was taken away for interrogation and then released. On May 30, the interrogation of her husband was scheduled in the investigative department of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Tambov region.

Earlier, on April 11, 2023, another search took place in Tambov—at 6:30 a.m., believers were awakened by a loud knock on the door. FSB officers Nikolay Aparshev and Dmitriy Dutskiy, accompanied by two girls, presented the order and searched the residence. They seized electronic devices, storage media, and postcards.

The European Court called on Russian authorities to stop the criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.