Belarus Refused to Extradite Jehovah's Witness Oleg Lonshakov to Russia, He Was Released From Detention Center

On October 14, 2021, the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus refused to extradite Jehovah's Witness Oleg Lonshakov to the Russian authorities. The believer's preventive measure was cancelled and he was released from Brest pre-trial detention center No. 7. He spent more than two weeks in custody.

Lonshakov, internationally wanted by Russia, was detained in the morning on September 29th in Brest, where he has been living for more than a year and has a residence permit. He spent two days in the temporary detention center, after which Deputy Prosecutor of Brest E. A. Pashkevich issued an order for placing Lonshakov in detention center No. 7 until November 8, 2021.

Before moving to Belarus, the 44-year-old believer lived in the village of Tavrichanka in Primorye Territory. In May 2020, Russian authorities initiated a criminal case against Lonshakov under part 1 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of extremist activities), essentially because of his beliefs. Due to religious repressions at home, Oleg was forced to leave for Belarus.

In September, 2021, Lonshakov applied for refugee status on the basis of his religion. In the coming weeks, it is going to be considered by the Department of Citizenship and Migration of the Interior Ministry of Belarus.

This is not the first time the Belarusian authorities have detained and then released a Jehovah's Witness from Russia. In 2020, Nikolay Makhalichev from the city of Urai (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area) spent more than a month in pre-detention center No. 2 in the Vitebsk region.