Two women arrested for their faith in Smolensk region

On October 7, 2018, officers of the FSB Directorate for the Smolensk Region, together with operatives of the Center for Counteracting Extremism and SOBR fighters, conducted a series of searches in the homes of Smolensk residents suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. In the city of Sychevka (Smolensk region), 2 women did not get in touch for the third day: Natalia Sorokina and Maria Troshina. Presumably, they were arrested, because, according to neighbors, they were taken away in an unknown direction by the officers who conducted the search.

It became known that a criminal case was initiated under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in the activities of an extremist community). According to the interpretation of the Smolensk FSB, unidentified persons continued the activities of the "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia", which was liquidated by the court in 2017. On October 2, 2018, Andrey Lantsov, a judge of the Leninsky District Court of Smolensk, issued permits for searches in the homes of citizens whom the FSB considers to be related to the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Law enforcement agencies across the country mistakenly interpret peaceful meetings of believers as "extremist activity." Dozens of human rights activists, as well as the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation , express concern about the growing religious repression.