In Bashkiria, a believer was sent to a pre-trial detention center for 52 days

During the mass searches that took place in Ufa on April 10, 2018, one of the local residents, 32-year-old Anatoliy Vilitkevich, was arrested. He is charged under Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of an extremist organization) due to the fact that he allegedly professes the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses.

On April 12, 2018, Larisa Mokhova, judge of the Leninsky District Court of Ufa, issued a decision on the election of a preventive measure for Anatoly Vilitkevich in the form of detention until June 2, 2018 inclusive. At the same time, the court ignored a number of legal requirements, for example, it did not indicate in its decision why it was impossible to choose a milder measure, and also did not check the validity of Anatoly Vilitkevich's involvement in the crime imputed to him.

On April 16, 2018, Anatoliy Vilitkevich's lawyers filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan against the court's decision to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention. On April 19, 2018, during the appeal hearing in the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the decision to detain the believer was upheld.

The arrest was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017, which imposed a ban on the activities of all registered legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the association in Ufa. The decision of the Supreme Court is appealed to the ECHR as a matter of priority.