After the Sentencing of Jehovah's Witnesses in Novocherkassk, Security Forces Inspected the Home of Another Believer

On October 4, 2024, FSB officers came to a resident of the city of Novocherkassk to inspect his apartment in order to identify signs of extremist activity. At the same time, another group of security officials came to his workplace.

FSB and police officers, accompanied by an IT specialist and two witnesses, searched for prohibited items and extremist literature. At the request of the security forces, the couple unlocked the phones. Nothing forbidden was found either in the computer or in mobile devices. Then, during a informal conversation, FSB officer Roman Sukhanov tried to persuade the believer to cooperate with the investigation.

Permission to inspect the premises was issued by the judge of the Novocherkassk City Court Nataliya Remizova. The court's ruling states that the actions of the believer "may contain signs of a crime under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation."

Law enforcers interpret the religion of citizens as participation in the activities of extremist organizations. Three months earlier, a court in Novocherkassk sentenced three of Jehovah's Witnesses to actual terms of imprisonment.