A six-year prison sentence is the first for Jehovah's Witnesses in the Tver region. And new searches are underway in Tambov.

The prosecutor asked for Alexandra Starikova, Alexey Kuznetsov, Oleg Katamova и Alexandra Shchetinina on 8 years conclusions. Judge of the Konakovo City Court Tver region Екатерина Веринина recognized Men are accused of organizing extremist activity. Bibles in various language translations confiscated during searches of Jehovah's Witnesses will be destroyed.

The Russian authorities' persecution stemmed from religious services and discussions of the Holy Scriptures with fellow believers via video link.
The case was opened in 2021, the trial began in October 2023, and the convicted defendants pleaded not guilty to extremism.

"What words were most frequently heard from the defendants themselves, witnesses, and in audio recordings of conversations and church services? 'Bible,' 'God,' 'Jehovah,' 'love,' 'kindness,' 'gratitude.' Why is there nothing extremist in the extremism case?" quoted In OVD-Info, the lawyer's speech during the debate.

On the same day when Konakovo the verdict was announced searches took place at least 7 addresses in TambovAnd the charges are the same: “organizing the activities of a religious association… by organizing religious performances and services.”

During one of the searches, write On the Jehovah's Witnesses website, security forces stated that "You can't have a Bible at home, but you have to buy one at church if you need one." (What to do with a purchased book if it cannot be kept at home is not specified).

According to Memorial, in Russia is being pursued more 600 Jehovah's Witnesses. In 2017, the church was declared an extremist organization. In 2022, the ECHR ruled the ban unlawful and a violation of a range of rights, from freedom of expression to freedom of religion. There are 13 members of the Jehovah's Witnesses community. died in conclusion.