Searches, Interrogations with Beatings, and Detentions — Raid Against Jehovah's Witnesses in Ozersk

On January 17, 2025, in the city of Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Region, five apartments of Jehovah's Witnesses were searched. The raid was initiated by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Chelyabinsk Region, which opened a criminal case against Anton Parfenov under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Four men were detained.

The searches began at about 5:30 a.m. and lasted from 2.5 to 4 hours. Demanding passwords for electronic devices, law enforcement officers beat two men. The security forces, some of them wearing masks and carrying assault rifles, seized Bibles, phones and laptops, personal records, and photographs. In some cases, believers were persuaded not to use Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which gives the right not to testify against themselves and their loved ones.

After the searches, four men were placed in a temporary detention center: Igor Smolnikov, Oleg Preobrazhenskiy, Artem Repin, and Evgeniy Cherepanov, who came to Ozersk from another city to help his mother get to the hospital for examination. In the coming days, the issue of the measure of restraint will be decided.

Searches in Ozersk were carried out for the first time. In addition to those detained here, 16 more Jehovah's Witnesses were prosecuted in the Chelyabinsk Region.