Arrests, Searches and a Criminal Case in the Stavropol Territory

On December 9, 2018, at least 8 searches were carried out in Neftekumsk (Stavropol Territory) in apartments, private houses and non-residential premises of citizens suspected of practicing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. Konstantin Samsonov (41), Aleksandr Akopov (26) and Shamil Sultanov (41) were sent to jail. Another man is wanted. The criminal case under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was initiated by the Investigative Directorate of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Stavropol Territory on December 7, 2017.

Many law enforcement officers, including those from the regional center, were involved in the searches. In most places, masked soldiers armed with assault rifles drove up in an off-road military truck (Ural).

Citizens were subjected to degrading treatment. During one search, a woman was forced to fully undress in the presence of witnesses (women). In addition, a minor (17 years old) was subjected to a body search with exposure to his underwear. A woman with group II disability was not allowed to use the toilet for a long time. A young girl, in front of whom the search took place, cried with fear. Another woman required emergency medical attention after the search. An ambulance team was also called to Konstantin Samsonov directly for the court hearing, during which he was sent to a pre-trial detention center.

During the searches, books, communication equipment, computers, notebooks, electronic storage devices, personal money, bank cards, vehicle documents, photographs, etc., were seized.

It is noteworthy how the FSB motivated the need to detain citizens: "After the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia to ban activities ... Samsonov K.V. did not renounce his religious views" (the identical wording was also used in the investigator's petition to the court against Shamil Sultanov). Earlier, dozens of human rights defenders, as well as the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation , expressed concern about the growing religious repression.

Earlier, on August 26, 2017, 18 citizens who were vacationing with children on the shore of the lake in the vicinity of Neftekumsk, were blocked by a detachment of armed police officers and taken to the police station under the threat of force. In November, 9 searches in the homes of believers were conducted in Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory).