Belarus refused to extradite Russian Jehovah’s witnesses* Ugra, the detainee upon request
Moscow-Live.ru / Budziszewski Nicholas
The Prosecutor General’s office of Belarus refused to extradite Russian arrested in February follower “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* Nicholas Mikhalycheva. This was reported in Facebook the Human rights organization Human Constanta.
Believer of Urai, which in Russia is a criminal case about the organization of an extremist organization and has been entered in the register of Rosfinmonitoring, was detained on 21 February near Vitebsk after checking the documents. After his release from SIZO-2 in Vitebsk, he continues to seek refugee status in Belarus. Release Mikhalycheva demanded from Belarusian and international human rights organizations, claiming that the reason for the persecution is his religion.
20 April 2017, the Supreme court ruled on the recognition of the administrative centre “witnesses of iegovy”* extremist organization. Since that time, many supporters of religious organizations were prosecuted.
In previously conducted at the request of prosecutors comprehensive linguistic religious judicial expert examination stated that Jehovah’s witnesses* use the “extremist” version of the Bible. They also allegedly believe it is necessary to overthrow the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, as “believe in the depravity of the status quo, the upcoming end of the world, Jesus victory over the devil, over the world, the reign of Jesus and the beginning of a new world order”.
A symptom of incitement to religious hatred, the experts considered the criticism of the Catholic Church, consisting in the fact that in the brochure “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* on science article about Galilee, saying that the Catholic Inquisition sentenced him to life arrest was unfair and Pope John Paul II acknowledged this. And the faith of Jehovah’s witnesses* that God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone and the end of the world the world is waiting for a new disaster, is treated by experts as a call to “genocide, mass repression, and the establishment of inequality, discrimination, crimes motivated by hatred.” This calls for terrorism in the beliefs of Jehovah’s witnesses* experts are not found.
Most of those arrested Jehovah’s witnesses* the charges under article “Organization of activities of religious organizations in respect of which the decision on liquidation of extremist activity”.
According to statistics of the European Association of “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* published in November 2019, are subject to criminal prosecution or liable for articles on extremism and its financing (282.2, and 282.3 of the criminal code), about 300 Jehovah’s witnesses*.
The security forces are putting pressure on Jehovah’s witnesses* in 54 regions of the Russian Federation. Most cases filed in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous area (Yugra) – 24. Followed by Primorsky Krai (21 cases), Khabarovsk Krai and Jewish Autonomous oblast (14 cases), Kirov oblast (12 cases). 72 members of the “Jehovah’s Witness”* in the status of suspects, 145 – accused, 57 – defendants, 26 convicted. In absentia arrested and are in search of four people under house arrest – 23. The measure of restraint in the form of prohibition of certain action chosen for the 22 followers, other measures of restraint and coercion subjected to 189 people.
Three followers of “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* from Orel, Tomsk, Penza was sentenced to six years in prison. The result called their leaders of local communities. One of the prisoners was a citizen of Denmark.
11 December 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Council for human rights has called the introduction of Jehovah’s witnesses* in the list of extremist organizations “complete nonsense”, however, since no legislative relief did not happen. Putin’s press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the verdict of Tomsk Jehovah’s witnesses* Sergey Klimov, said that the possibility of legislative changes in relation to “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* “ain’t got no development”, because “there are different points of view on this matter”. However, he did not rule out any changes in the future.
“With the Jehovah’s Witnesses are treated as not addressed even in Soviet times, except for the Stalinist period. Could come to the policeman with a pair of patrol for the order. You could talk to, to chide. Could arrange a friendly court, dismissed. But in the houses of believers through the Windows and the balconies did not burst special forces soldiers, had not broken into the “Bulgarian” doors, people were not laid on the floor under the barrels of guns, not handcuffed to the batteries, not tortured with tasers,” said journalist Anton Chuchalov.
The European court of human rights last year communicated two complaints of “Jehovah’s Witnesses”* on violations of their rights, demanding unprecedented for Russia compensation at 79.1 million Euro (6 billion rubles).
*”Jehovah’s witnesses” (Jehovah’s witnesses) – an organization banned in Russia.