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Illustrative photo

Illustrative photo

Actions of Law Enforcement Officers

In the City of Oryol a Wave of Searches in the Apartments of Dennis Christensen’s Fellow Believers

Oryol Region

On December 9, 2020, at least three searches in the apartments of local followers of religion Jehovah's Witnesses take place in the city of Oryol. It is reported that criminal proceedings have been initiated against three believers.

Three believers were detained and sent to a temporary detention center: Vladimir Piskaryov, 64, Artur Putintsev, 50, and Vladimir Melnik, 54. A married couple was also taken in for questioning, but were later released. According to updated information, searches were carried out at 7 addresses. During the search of Artur and Lyudmila Putintsev's home, an investigator pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot the dog. Electronic devices, books and personal records were seized from the believers. In one of the apartments, law enforcement officers seized a collection of poems, explaining that they were looking for anything that contained the name Jehovah.

On December 11, the Sovetsky District Court of Orel sent Vladimir Melnik and Vladimir Piskarev to a pre-trial detention center for 2 months. Artur Putintsev was left by the court in the temporary detention facility.

Update. On December 14, the judge of the Sovetsky District Court of Orel, Andrei Tretyakov, decided to send Artur Putintsev to a pre-trial detention center for 2 months.

According to the official press-release of the Investigative Committee, the case was initiated under part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code. It is reported that the believers in Oryol and Naryshkino were identified by FSB and MVD officers. The believers are accused for "convening meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses, in which they personally participated and formed their summons."

Two local Jehovah's Witnesses have already been convicted for their faith: Dennis Christensen and Sergey Skrynnikov.

The Case of Piskarev and Others in Oryol

Case History
Since 2009, Vladimir Melnik, a father of three from Oryol, has been keeping a record of pressure, threats and provocations from the FSB. In December 2020, his home was invaded by armed law enforcement officers. Vladimir Piskarev and Artur Putintsev were also detained. The believers were placed in a pretrial detention center, and their names were added to the Rosfinmonitoring list. In January 2022, the case went to court. During the hearings, it became evident that Piskarev’s apartment had been wiretapped; these audio recordings formed the basis of the charge. In the pretrial detention center, his health deteriorated suddenly — he suffered a stroke and more than one hypertensive crisis. Nevertheless, the preventive measure was not eased neither for him, nor Melnik nor Putintsev. In October 2023, the court sentenced the three believers to 6 years in a penal colony. In March 2024 the court of appeal upheld the verdict. This decision was upheld by the court of cassation in February 2025. In April of the same year, the believers were released, having completely served their sentence.
Timeline

Persons in case

Melnik
Vladimir
Piskarev
Vladimir
Putintsev
Artur

Criminal case

Region:
Oryol Region
Locality:
Oryol
Suspected of:
"deliberately convened meetings by notifying its participants by electronic means of communication about the date and place of their being held, determined the procedure for holding religious presentations on given topics" (from the decision to initiate a criminal case).
Court case number:
12002540005000065
Initiated:
December 8, 2020
Current case stage:
the verdict entered into force
Investigating:
Investigative Department for the Sovetskiy District of the City of Oryol of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Oryol Region
Articles of Criminal Code of Russian Federation:
282.2 (1)
Court case number:
1-16/2023 (1-123/2022)
Court:
Sovetskiy District Court of the City of Oryol
Judge of the Court of First Instance:
Natalya Tishkova
Case History
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