In Primorye, a civilian was arrested for 2 months for his faith

One of the followers of the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Vladivostok, 42-year-old Valentin Osadchuk, was arrested for two months, until June 20, 2018. He is charged under Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in an extremist organization). On the eve of his arrest, on April 19, 2018, police officers and the FSB conducted searches in the homes of local residents. Women of 66 and 83 years old (!) were involved as suspects under the same article in the criminal case, they were taken on their own recognizance.

The criminal case was initiated on April 9, 2018 by an FSB investigator. This was preceded by operational-search activities, including secret video filming. On April 23, 2018, Sergey Olkhovsky, judge of the Frunzensky District Court of Vladivostok, chose a preventive measure in the form of detention against Valentin Osadchuk. On April 27, 2018, the investigator of the FSB Directorate for the Primorsky Territory, Senior Lieutenant of Justice O. A. Tunyk, decided to bring Valentin Osadchuk as an accused.

The criminal case was a direct consequence of the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate and ban the activities of all 396 registered organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, including the local religious organization in Vladivostok. Law enforcers often mistake the joint religion of citizens for participation in an extremist organization.