14 February 2024, 17:33
Prosecutor demands nine years in colony for Jehovah's Witness* from Adygea
Inver Siyukhov, a Jehovah's Witness* from Maykop (the capital of Adygea), who has been held under arrest at a detention centre for almost three years, should be sentenced to nine years of freedom deprivation, the prosecutor has stated.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia, at the request of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), recognized the "Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia"* and 395 of its branches as extremist organizations, banning their activities. Since then, hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses have faced criminal prosecution in Russia.
Inver Siyukhov from Maykop is one of the four Jehovah's Witnesses from Adygea, who have faced criminal prosecution under the articles of extremist organization. This is reported by the website that collects information about criminal cases against Russian followers of this religion. The case against Siyukhov was opened in April 2021. After a search of his home, he was arrested.
Now, the prosecutor has demanded to sentence Siyukhov to nine years of freedom deprivation, the human rights project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial" has informed in its website.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in September 2023, a court in Maykop sentenced the 68-year-old Jehovah's Witness*, Nikolai Voischev, to three years in colony, treating him as the organizer of the activities of an extremist organization. Besides, in January 2024, Nikolai Saparov, a Jehovah's Witness from Maykop, was sentenced to six years in penal colony.
*396 Russian organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses are recognized as extremist, and their activities in Russia are banned by court's decision.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 13, 2024 at 01:36 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
