Print this pageFor Immediate Release
March 24, 2010
(Russian)
Police in Russia confiscate religious literature from homes of believers
TAMBOV, Russia—“When the police showed up at our house early in the morning, it struck me that I have reason to fear for my freedom and the welfare of my children.” Larisa Cheprunova, whose home was searched, was shocked by what happened. “We have always respected the authorities, but the officers treated us like criminals; they spoke rudely, took our belongings and literature, and scared our children!”
At approximately 7 a.m. on March 17, 2010, three groups of policemen arrived simultaneously at three homes occupied by four families of Jehovah’s Witnesses living in the city of Tambov. The residents were awakened by the police who, with court orders in hand, were there to search the homes. The officers confiscated personal libraries, taking all Bible literature as well as business documents, computers, electronic data, even family photo albums and personal correspondence. These events took place shortly after another update of the Federal List of Extremist Materials to which new publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses had been added.
The court order was based on a recent case initiated under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, “Inciting Hatred or Hostility, and the Debasing of Human Dignity.” In response to the motion filed by Investigator Igor Avdeyev, a ruling was issued by Judge Lyudmila Ryazantseva of the Leninskiy District Court of the City of Tambov that authorized the search. According to the ruling, the officers should confiscate “objects, literature, electronic media advocating religious hatred as well as. . . other documents recording the activity of the religious organization.”
During the search the police did not inform the householders of their rights, provide them with a copy of the court order authorizing the search, or allow them to contact a lawyer. In some cases the householders were not allowed to use their personal telephones. During the search of the Cheprunovs’ apartment, the raised voices of the police officers scared the family’s young daughter, who started to cry and plead that the police not take her parents away from her. Police searching another home, that of the Tagayev family, confiscated a copy of the New Testament published in Moscow in 1988 as well as publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Vasiliy Kalin, Chairman of the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia, who lived through the time of repression and experienced firsthand religious persecution, stated the following: “What has happened in Tambov reminds us of those difficult times in the past when based on slanderous reports and false accusations as well as in the absence of any grounds, Jehovah’s Witnesses were deprived of their property and criminally prosecuted. Back then the KGB officers came late at night or early in the morning, searched the houses, took away literature and personal belongings. What’s happening now is all too familiar, too much like what happened in 1951 when such actions on a large scale ultimately led thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be deported to Siberia.”
Contacts:
In Russia: Grigory Martynov, telephone +7 (812) 702-26-91
In USA: J.R. Brown, telephone +1 718 560 5600