A Taganrog home of one of Jehovah's Witnesses, who previously served more than five years of probation for practicing his faith, was searched again

On March 20, 2021, the police searched the home of 58-year-old Taganrog-based Aleksandr Skvortsov, having previously placed his home under audio surveillance. Approximately ten years ago, the security forces already invaded the home of this peaceful believer. At that time, he endured exhausting court hearings and served a suspended sentence.

On Friday, March 19, Alexander and his wife were lured out of the house on a far-fetched reason: they were called by the traffic police and asked to come to check the information about their car. The Skvortsovs spent about two hours in the inspection. Later that day, Aleksandr discovered special tracking devices in his kitchen at home.

A tracking device found in the Skvortsovs’ house. Taganrog. 19 March 2021

The next day, police officers came to the spouses, accompanied by technical specialists and witnesses - a total of 10 people. They announced a search and began looking for a listening device that they had installed earlier. Law enforcement officers carefully searched the house, basement and outbuildings in the yard for 3 hours, but did not find anything. Electronic devices and personal records were seized from Aleksandr. He was not provided with copies of the order and the protocol of the search. Due to the stress, the believer's wife required urgent medical attention.

This is not the first time a civilian in a southern port city has faced criminal prosecution. In August 2011, his house was searched as part of a criminal case initiated under an “extremist” article against 16 Taganrog residents for not stopping to gather for religious meetings. In the spring of 2016, all believers were found guilty. Aleksandr was sentenced to 5.5 years of probation. Aleksandr Skvortsov served his term in full.

“The faith of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is not prohibited by law. The authorities have repeatedly stressed this. But it is enough to substitute concepts - simply call a peaceful religious meeting the activity of a banned organization - and any believer can be “pulled a fast” as many times as you like through criminal cases with the same charges. In fact, a repressive conveyor belt is being formed in Russia. But as the history of the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Soviet Union shows, repression cannot change convictions, ”Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, comments on the situation.