UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

The court's "not guilty" ruling was partly based on conclusions by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention confirming that Jehovah's Witnesses do not practice or promote violence in any manner..

Case History

On August 20, 2016, law-enforcement officers raided a Kingdom Hall in Mayskiy and planted literature published by Jehovah's Witnesses that had been banned as "extremist." Although the local Witnesses had video footage proving that the literature was planted, a court fined the local religious organization 200,000 rubles ($2,560 U.S.). Several months later, a criminal case based on this incident was initiated against Zalipayev.

The prosecution claimed that Zalipayev distributed banned literature and encouraged other Jehovah's Witnesses to commit violent acts against members of other religions. These charges fall under "public calls for extremist activities" (Part 1 of Article 280 of Russia's Criminal Code). However, during the hearings, over 30 people testified that Zalipayev did nothing more than encourage others to read the Bible and to show warmth and kindness to all people.

Nationwide Persecution (Russia and Crimea) 388 under criminal investigation
45 in prison (10 convicted; 35 pretrial detention; over 190 have served time in pretrial detention)
26 under house arrest 1145 homes raided since 2017 Supreme Court ruling