The Court of Appeal Released One of the Three Believers in Surgut from the Pre-Trial Detention Center

On March 7, 2019, the Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra overturned the decision of the Surgut City Court (first instance) to detain 50-year-old Artur Severinchik. He spent 21 days behind bars. However, it was refused to mitigate the measure of restraint for 42-year-old Yevgeniy Fedin and 57-year-old Sergey Loginov, they still remain in jail.

Early in the morning of February 15, 2019, in Surgut, Lyantor and other settlements of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, mass searches were carried out in the homes of citizens who are suspected of professing the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses. At least 7 peaceful Jehovah's Witnesses were tortured in the buildings of the Investigative Committee of Russia in Surgut. A criminal case under the article "organization and participation in an extremist organization" was initiated against 20 local residents, including women. On February 16, 2019, believers in Surgut contacted the hotline of the TFR on the fact of torture. On February 17, 2019, the court chose a measure of restraint in the form of detention in a pre-trial detention center for three of them.

On February 26, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered the Russian government to urgently send for a medical examination 57-year-old Sergey Loginov, one of 7 Surgut residents who reported torture in the building of the Investigative Committee.

Law enforcers mistakenly mistake citizens' religion for participation in the activities of an extremist organization. Prominent public figures of Russia, the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation, as well as the President of the Russian Federation himself drew attention to this problem. Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing to do with extremism and insist on their complete innocence. The Russian government has repeatedly stated that the decisions of the Russian courts on the liquidation and prohibition of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses "do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teachings individually."

Update: Despite the decision of the Court of Appeal, due to the slowness of the document flow, Artur Severinchik remained in the pre-trial detention center until March 15, 2019. He spent 29 days behind bars.