The Pervomaysky District Court of Kirov on March 28, 2019, refused investigators’ request to extend the term of Yevgeny Suvorkov’s detention. He is now under house arrest. Thus, of the five Witnesses arrested in Kirov on October 9, 2018, for “singing Bible songs together . . . studying religious literature, the so-called ‘Holy Scriptures’ (Bible)” only Andrzej Oniszczuk, a citizen of Poland living in Russia, is still in jail after 176 days.
First, on December 20, 2018, after 73 days in jail, Vladimir Korobeynikov was transferred to house arrest. On February 2, 2019, the court moved Andrey Suvorkov and Maksim Khalturin to house arrest. Both spent 117 days behind bars.
Religious persecution in Kirov continues. On March 26, 2019, at least 10 new searches in the homes of believers took place in the city. A criminal case was initiated against three people, following an investigation by Lieutenant Colonel of Justice G. Malykh - an official handling what are regarded as particularly important cases of the Investigative Committee of Russia in the Kirov region. He also filed a case against Andrzej Oniszczuk and others in October 2018.
