In Stavropol, Security Forces Planted Forbidden Literature on Believers During a Search. A Family Faces Criminal Prosecution

In the morning of February 12, 2020, in Stavropol, law enforcement officers disguised as neighbors searched the home of 24-year-old Denis Mashkov and his wife, Anna. The special operation lasted about six hours, accompanied by insults. The family head was questioned whether he was “the organizer” of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Searchers “discovered” several publications included in the federal list of extremist materials. They seized laptops, phones, electronic storage devices and personal notes, including passwords from phones.