The repression of Jehovah's Witnesses continued in 2020. Source of photo above left: [Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation](https://www.youtube.com/channel/ucoiawkqufmdjuk7wwdiokpa)

The repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses continued in 2020. Source of photo above left: Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

The repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses continued in 2020. Source of photo above left: Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation

Statistics and Overview

Jehovah's Witnesses Under the Yoke of Repression: Results of 2020

Moscow

How many people were repressed for their faith in 2020? As of December 30, 2020, 427 followers of Jehovah's Witnesses are officially in the status of accused, suspected, indicted, convicted, or acquitted. Of these, 146 learned of criminal prosecution in 2020. (In 2019, the number was 213.) The total number of criminal cases brought was 188 (most often 2 or more defendants in one criminal case).

What is the geographic scope of religious repression as of the end of 2020? Criminal cases against Jehovah's Witnesses have already been opened in 60 Regions, Territories, republics, Autonomous Regions, and Cities of Federal Significance. In 2020, cases were opened in 8 new regions of Russia. (In 2019, the number was 21.)

How many convictions for faith were handed down in 2020, and how many of them went into effect. As of December 30, 2020, 59 men and women were convicted for their faith in the past 2 years. During 2020, 39 people were convicted under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code and sentenced to various penalties by the trial courts. (In 2019, the figure was 18.) Of these, 21 people are still waiting for an appeal decision. For 23 believers during 2020, appeal hearings were held and sentences went into effect. (In 2019, the number was 10.) In some cases, sentences were reduced or increased, but most were unchanged.

How many Jehovah's Witnesses have passed through temporary detention facilities, pre-trial detention centers, or penal colonies, and how many are still being held there. A total of 221 believers have been sent behind bars since May 2017. During 2020, 49 believers were placed in pre-trial detention (SIZO), and another 23 spent a few days each in a TDF, but they were given a non-custodial measure of restraint. Thus, during the year, 72 believers ended up in detention. (In 2019, the figure was 84.) As of December 30, 2020, 46 people remain behind bars, including 36 in pre-trial detention facilities and 10 in penal colonies.

Vladimir and Tatyana Alushkin
Vladimir and Tatyana Alushkin
Felix Makhammadiyev, March 2020
Felix Makhammadiyev, March 2020
The family meets Gennadiy Shpakovsky at the exit from the pre-trial detention center
The family meets Gennadiy Shpakovsky at the exit from the pre-trial detention center
Lyudmila Shut in the courtroom, September 2020
Lyudmila Shut in the courtroom, September 2020
Yuriy Zalipaev in the courtroom
Yuriy Zalipaev in the courtroom
Yuriy Savelyev in the courtroom, Novosibirsk, 2020
Yuriy Savelyev in the courtroom, Novosibirsk, 2020
The security forces are storming the apartment of believers. Moscow, November 2020. Photo source: Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
The security forces are storming the apartment of believers. Moscow, November 2020. Photo source: Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation
Vardan Zakaryan after the session of the Presnensky District Court, Moscow, November 30, 2020
Vardan Zakaryan after the session of the Presnensky District Court, Moscow, November 30, 2020
Dennis Christensen in a prison cell for visits during a meeting with a lawyer. Lgov. September 8, 2020
Dennis Christensen in a prison cell for visits during a meeting with a lawyer. Lgov. September 8, 2020
Natalia and Sergey Britvin, Vadim and Tatyana Levchuk, Berezovsky, September 2020
Natalia and Sergey Britvin, Vadim and Tatyana Levchuk, Berezovsky, September 2020

How many searches have been conducted in the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses? Since the ban on registered Jehovah's Witnesses took effect, a total of 1,274 searches have been conducted in their homes. Of these, 477 searches were conducted in 2020. (In 2019, the number was 489.) A search is a significant restriction of a person's constitutional right to liberty and security of person, privacy, personal and family secrets, honor, and good name.

Chronicle of the incursions into the homes of Jehovah's Witnesses in 2020:

  • 01/19/2020 Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan): 4 searches were conducted.
  • 01/21/2020 Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan): 1 search was conducted.
  • 01/22/2020 Razdolnoye (Primorye Territory): 6 searches carried out.
  • 01/24/2020 Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan): 1 search was conducted.
  • 01/28/2020 Pechora (Komi Republic): 12 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Darasun resort (Trans-Baikal Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/10/2020 Chita (Trans-Baikal Territory): 23 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Pervomaisky (Trans-Baikal Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/10/2020 Verkhnyaya Hila (Trans-Baikal Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/10/2020 Baley (Trans-Baikal Territory): 3 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Amazar (Trans-Baikal Territory): 4 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Duldurga (Trans-Baikal Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/10/2020 Yasnogorsk (Trans-Baikal Territory): 6 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Khilok (Trans-Baikal Territory): 4 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Krasnokamensk (Trans-Baikal Territory): 4 searches carried out.
  • 02/10/2020 Novopavlovsk (Stavropol Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/12/2020 Stavropol (Stavropol Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 02/13/2020 Yalta (Republic of Crimea): 1 search was conducted.
  • 03/06/2020 Kizlyar (Republic of Dagestan): 1 search was conducted.
  • 03/23/2020 Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 03/24/2020 Luchegorsk (Primorye Territory): 4 searches were conducted.
  • 03/30/2020 Karpinsk (Sverdlovsk Region): 3 searches carried out.
  • 04/11/2020 Teikovo (Ivanovo Region): 5 searches were conducted.
  • 04/28/2020 Starokorsunskaya (Krasnodar Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 04/29/2020 Kholmskaya (Krasnodar Territory): 5 searches carried out.
  • 04/29/2020 Pavlovskaya (Krasnodar Territory): 5 searches carried out.
  • 05/12/2020 Lesozavodsk (Primorye Territory): 4 searches were conducted.
  • 05/19/2020 Lesozavodsk (Primorye Territory): 3 searches were conducted.
  • 05/20/2020 Maisky (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic): 5 searches carried out.
  • 05/21/2020 Lesozavodsk (Primorye Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 05/21/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 05/22/2020 Komsomolsk-on-Amur (Khabarovsk Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 05/26/2020 Kerch (Republic of Crimea): 5 searches were conducted.
  • 05/27/2020 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 5 searches carried out.
  • 05/27/2020 Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 06/02/2020 Vlasikha (Moscow Region): 5 searches carried out.
  • 06/09/2020 Astrakhan (Astrakhan region): 27 searches carried out.
  • 06/18/2020 Nazarovo (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 12 searches carried out.
  • 06/22/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 2 searches were conducted.
  • 06/23/2020 Goluboy Bay (Republic of Crimea): 2 searches carried out.
  • 07/02/2020 Tavrichanka (Primorye Territory): 6 searches were conducted.
  • 07/07/2020 Likino-Dulevo (Moscow Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/07/2020 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 07/09/2020 Vladivostok (Primorye Territory): 7 searches were conducted.
  • 07/11/2020 Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad Region): 7 searches were conducted.
  • 07/12/2020 Prokopyevsk (Kemerovo Region): 4 searches carried out.
  • 07/13/2020 Voronezh (Voronezh Region): 64 searches carried out.
  • 07/13/2020 Ramon (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/13/2020 Liski (Voronezh Region): 2 searches carried out.
  • 07/13/2020 Semiluki (Voronezh Region): 3 searches carried out.
  • 07/13/2020 Stary Oskol (Belgorod Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/13/2020 Borisoglebsk (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/13/2020 Maslovsky (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/13/2020 Pavlovsk (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/13/2020 Novovoronezh (Voronezh Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/14/2020 Seversk (Tomsk Region): 6 searches conducted.
  • 07/15/2020 Zvezdny (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/23/2020 Surgut (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug): 1 search was conducted.
  • 07/28/2020 Solikamsk (Perm Territory): 3 searches were conducted.
  • 08.08.2020 Rostov-on-Don (Rostov Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 08.08.2020 Gukovo (Rostov Region): 16 searches carried out.
  • 08.08.2020 Kursk (Kursk region): 2 searches carried out.
  • 08/10/2020 Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 08/18/2020 Partizansk (Primorye Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 08/19/2020 Yugorsk (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area): 8 searches were conducted.
  • 08/19/2020 Sovetskiy (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area): 1 search was conducted.
  • 08/24/2020 Pechora (Komi Republic): 12 searches carried out.
  • 08/27/2020 Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan): 1 search was conducted.
  • 09/03/2020 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 09/04/2020 Yelets (Lipetsk Region): 2 searches conducted.
  • 09/05/2020 Pechora (Komi Republic): 1 search was conducted.
  • 09/15/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 09/24/2020 Blagoveshchensk (Amur Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 01.10.2020 Sevastopol (Republic of Crimea): 9 searches were conducted.
  • 06.10.2020 Solnechnodolsk (Stavropol Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 10 /11/2020 Nikolsk (Penza Region): 4 searches were conducted.
  • 10/13/2020 Zeya (Amur Region): 8 searches were conducted.
  • 10/19/2020 Berezovsky (Sverdlovsk Region): 5 searches carried out.
  • 10/22/2020 Sovetskaya Gavan (Khabarovsk Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 10/29/2020 Vyazemsky (Khabarovsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/ 11/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 2 searches were conducted.
  • 11/ 12/2020 Maisky (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/12/2020 Tyrnyauz (Kabardino-Balkaria Republic): 6 searches conducted.
  • 11/12/2020 Cherkessk (Karachay-Cherkess Republic): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/16/2020 Gryazi (Lipetsk Region): 9 searches carried out.
  • 11/18/2020 Nizhnekamsk (Republic of Tatarstan): 12 searches were conducted.
  • 11/ 19/2020 Nizhnekamsk (Republic of Tatarstan): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/24/2020 Moscow (Moscow): 20 searches carried out.
  • 11/27/2020 Cheboksary (Chuvash Republic): 5 searches carried out.
  • 11/27/2020 Novocheboksarsk (Chuvash Republic): 2 searches carried out.
  • 11/27/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/28/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 11/30/2020 Snezhinsk (Chelyabinsk Region): 4 searches were conducted.
  • 02.12.2020 Kholmskaya (Krasnodar Territory): 2 searches carried out.
  • 12/09/2020 Oryol (Oryol Region): 8 searches were conducted.
  • 12/11/2020 Krasnoyarsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 12/21/2020 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Kamchatka Territory): 1 search was conducted.
  • 12/21/2020 Lermontovka (Khabarovsk Territory): 4 searches carried out.
  • 12/21/2020 Bikin (Khabarovsk Territory): 5 searches carried out.
  • 12/24/2020 Kirsanov (Tambov Region): 20 searches carried out.
  • 12/24/2020 Lukhovitsy (Moscow Region): 1 search was conducted.
  • 12/25/2020 Chita (Trans-Baikal Territory): 1 search was conducted.

Which international organizations came out in defense of Russian Jehovah's Witnesses in 2020?

On March 12, 2020, 27 European Union (EU) states issued a statement calling on Russia to stop repressing Jehovah's Witnesses. Six other non-EU countries joined the statement.

On May 6, 2020, the UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted a decision concerning 18 believers in Russia. The group deemed the cases against them illegal and recommended their immediate release.

On July 23, 2020, 30 OSCE member states issued a statement harshly criticizing the Russian repression of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On October 1, 2020, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (the body that oversees how countries execute ECtHR judgments) issued a decision noting the repeated failure of the Russian Federation to implement the final judgment in the case of Jehovah's Witnesses in Moscow v. Russia. The Committee of Ministers pointed out that the 2017 Supreme Court decision concerning Jehovah's Witnesses effectively nullified earlier progress in the case, creating a legal basis for the repetition of violations that the European Court had previously assessed and found unlawful.

Earlier condemnations of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia included:

The Russian government has repeatedly stated that decisions of Russian courts to liquidate and ban Jehovah's Witnesses organizations "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses and do not contain restrictions or prohibitions on the individual practice of the above-mentioned doctrine."