A cell of religious extremists was busted in Simferopol
A resident of Simferopol will go on trial under the article “extremism” for creating a cell of the religious organization “Jehovah’s Witnesses” banned in Russia.
The 53-year-old Simferopol resident conducted his sermons online and at the place of residence of the sect’s adherents, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The preacher was detained in November of this year with the force support of the FSB and the Russian Guard.
As part of the investigation, about 20 searches were carried out in Simferopol and the Simferopol region, a significant amount of religious literature with signs of extremist content, computer equipment, cash, as well as documentation and business journals were seized, indicating the illegal activities of the Simferopol cell and the collection of donations for its maintenance.
The detained sect leader controlled the financial flows.
The investigating authorities charge him with organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The sectarian faces up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to 800 thousand rubles.
In October, in the regional center of Krasnogvardeyskoye, law enforcement officers detained another organizer of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, who also joined its ranks in 2017. He is also charged with organizing the activities of an extremist organization.
In August, in Sevastopol, elders of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, who conducted meetings and sermons through the Zoom program, were detained at a safe house in Sevastopol. They collected very real money from parishioners, and for organizing a sect both face up to 10 years in prison.
This organization, recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation, was not among the prohibited ones during the period of Ukrainian jurisdiction, and under the influence of preachers, hundreds, if not thousands of people donated savings and their real estate for the benefit of the pseudo-Christian church,
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