Week-ending 21 February 2020
Eight Jehovah’s Witnesses Charged With Extremism In Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region
Russian authorities in the Jewish Autonomous Region in Siberia have charged eight Jehovah’s Witnesses with extremism amid what activists say is an escalating campaign of persecution of the religious group. The branch of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia said on February 18 that six women and two men in the regional capital, Birobidzhan, are facing charges of illegally resuming the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Similar charges have been filed against 11 other Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia since the start of 2020. RFE/RL, 19 February 2020
