"Dropped to the Floor." The Details of the Searches in Komsomolsk-on-Amur Have Become Known

On May 22, 2020 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur two dwellings of local believers were searched. The authorities interrogated four people – Nikolay and Alesya Aliyev, Vyacheslav Dubinkin and Dmitriy Bryankin. The only reason for the raid on these civilians was their faith in God Jehovah.

Around 07:00 in the morning there was a knock at the door of Aliyev's apartment, where Alesya's 18-year-old brother Vyacheslav lives together with his wife. When Nikolay opened the door, eight law enforcement officers broke in and armed riot policemen fell him to the floor. Investigator Aleksei Evsiugov presented the court order and began the search in the presence of two witnesses, dressed in military uniforms. The search lasted for five hours, after which Nikolay, Alesia and Vyacheslav were taken to the Investigative Department for questioning.

At the same time, a believer Dmitriy Bryankin was called by an unknown man and called to the street under the pretext that his car had allegedly been involved in an accident. An OMON officer, Lieutenant Colonel of the FSB and two witnesses were waiting for him outside. They presented Dmitriy with a detention order and took him to the Investigative Department right in his slippers; an 11-year-old child was left unattended at home. The security forces kept the believer in the car for over an hour. After receiving the search warrant, they returned to his apartment, where they seized his laptop and smartphone, printed materials and notebooks. Then Dmitriy was taken to the Investigations Department building. He had to spend six hours in the car with an OMON officer and the witnesses while waiting for an interrogation. Then he was interrogated for about 3 hours and was not released home until 21:00. Dmitri felt bad at home, he needed help from the medical team.

The believers were tried to put emotional pressure on them. For example, FSB Major Alexei Ivanov advised Nikolay Aliyev to change his faith to a more traditional one. K. Rubantsov, a CCE investigator, offered Alesya Aliyeva to cooperate with the investigation so that "something did not happen" to her husband. Nikolay Aliyev was presented with hidden video recordings of 2018, in which he talks to a man who depicts interest in the Bible.

Despite threats of arrest for using Article 51 of the Russian Constitution, all three believers were released in the evening. No one was elected to the measure of restraint.

During the searches the law enforcers searched for any information confirming that the believers belonged to Jehovah's Witnesses. They seized electronic devices, printed publications, photographs, and postcards mentioning the personal name of God.

Vyacheslav Dubinkin, Dmitriy Bryankin and the Aliyev spouses are persecuted along with 10 other believers in the Khabarovsk region. A verdict has already been passed in two cases, and two more cases are being considered by the court of first instance.