Thousands of people, with an estimated 15,000 attendees according to the Government Delegation, gathered at the iconic Cibeles square in Madrid this Saturday to demand the resignation of the President, Pedro Sánchez, and to protest against the amnesty for those involved in the ‘procés’. The demonstration saw the presence of leaders from the Popular Party (PP), Vox, and Ciudadanos, along with other prominent figures from the opposition to the Government, such as the former leader of UPyD, Rosa Díez, and the former Vice President of the European Parliament, Alejo Vidal-Quadras.
The atmosphere at Cibeles was charged with emotion as protesters voiced their discontent with the current government’s handling of the political situation in Spain. Calls for Pedro Sánchez to step down echoed through the square, with signs and banners expressing frustration and anger towards the perceived lack of accountability.
The issue of amnesty for those involved in the ‘procés’ has been a contentious one, sparking debates and divisions across the political spectrum. Critics argue that granting amnesty undermines the rule of law and sends a message of impunity, while supporters view it as a step towards reconciliation and political stability.
The presence of leaders from the PP, Vox, and Ciudadanos at the protest underscored the unity among opposition parties in their demand for change. Rosa Díez and Alejo Vidal-Quadras, prominent figures in Spanish politics, added weight to the demonstration, symbolizing a broader coalition of voices calling for action.
As the protest unfolded, chants of “¡Dimisión, dimisión!” (Resignation, resignation!) reverberated through the crowd, reflecting the growing frustration and dissatisfaction with the current government’s policies and decisions. The gathering at Cibeles served as a platform for citizens to voice their concerns and demand accountability from those in power.
The demonstration at Cibeles highlighted the deep-seated divisions and tensions within Spanish politics, with calls for change and reform resonating among a significant portion of the population. The coming days will reveal the impact of this protest on the political landscape and whether it will lead to concrete actions or further polarization in the country.
In conclusion, the protest at Cibeles was a powerful display of public discontent and a call for accountability in Spanish politics. With thousands of voices united in demanding change, the pressure on Pedro Sánchez and the government is palpable. The aftermath of this demonstration will undoubtedly shape the political discourse in Spain in the days and weeks to come.
In a recent expose by journalist Steve Eisenberg for RELIGACTU, the Mission Interministérielle de Lutte contre les Dérives Sectaires (MIVILUDES) in France finds itself engulfed in a deep financial scandal that has shaken the nation.
The scandal unfolded in two stages, with the first revelation coming from the Cour des Comptes, which issued a damning report on the management of MIVILUDES’ project funding and the distribution of grants to anti-sectarian associations. According to the President of the Cour des Comptes, Pierre Moscovici, “the analysis of the fund management procedures reveals serious deficiencies. These shortcomings became even more apparent during the national project calls launched in 2021, the first of which was intended for the ‘fight against sectarian drifts’.”
President Moscovici highlighted numerous irregularities in the management of public funds, including incomplete grant applications being approved, missing mandatory supporting documents, lack of fund control and monitoring, failure to request refunds for projects not executed, overpayments to certain associations, and more. As a result, the Cour des Comptes has referred the matter to the public prosecutor for further investigation, with the Chamber of Contentious Matters now tasked with judicial oversight. Moscovici emphasized the gravity of the situation, stating that the Chamber will investigate, potentially prosecute, and condemn those responsible, calling it a “serious matter.”
The following day, Le Monde shed light on the events leading to the Chamber of Contentious Matters’ involvement. In an article titled “One Year After the Marianne Fund Scandal, Scrutiny on MIVILUDES‘ Management,” journalist Samuel Laurent confirmed that a series of complaints had been filed against MIVILUDES and several anti-sectarian associations for alleged misappropriation of public funds, breach of trust, conflict of interest, and forgery. These complaints were lodged by an association known as CAPLC (Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience).
Of particular concern were substantial grants (over half of the 2021 project funding of one million euros) awarded to two associations whose presidents also sat on MIVILUDES’ Steering Committee: UNADFI (National Union of Associations for the Defense of Families and Individuals) led by President Joséphine Cesbron (whose husband also serves as UNADFI’s lawyer, raising suspicions of conflict of interest), and CCMM (Center Against Mental Manipulations) led by President Francis Auzeville.
Moreover, projects funded that never materialized should have triggered grant reimbursements. Instead, MIVILUDES renewed the grants the following year, despite being aware of the irregularities. The article in Le Monde cited internal sources confirming repeated warnings about the legal risks posed by such irregularities to the CIPDR’s management and the Secretary of State’s office.
In response to the allegations, MIVILUDES President Donatien Le Vaillant defended the organization’s actions by stating that a reform of the grant allocation process had been initiated since November 2023. However, this response comes after alerts dating back to 2021, raising doubts about its effectiveness in quelling the controversy and avoiding criminal convictions.
The unfolding scandal has cast a shadow over MIVILUDES and raised serious questions about the management of public funds and conflicts of interest within the organization. As investigations continue and legal proceedings loom, the future of MIVILUDES remains uncertain amidst the turmoil.
Le Monde’s reporting has brought to light a scandal that has rocked the foundations of MIVILUDES and sparked a national debate on accountability and transparency in public institutions.
As of today, the tech giants Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and ByteDance, identified as gatekeepers by the European Commission in September 2023, are required to adhere to all obligations outlined in the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA, designed to enhance competition and fairness in digital markets within the EU, introduces new regulations for key platform services like search engines, online marketplaces, app stores, online advertising, and messaging. These regulations aim to empower European businesses and consumers with new rights.
Gatekeepers have been proactively testing measures to align with the DMA prior to the deadline, soliciting feedback from external parties. Effective immediately, gatekeepers must demonstrate their compliance with the DMA and detail the steps taken in compliance reports. These reports, available to the public on the Commission’s dedicated DMA webpage, also require gatekeepers to provide independently audited descriptions of consumer profiling techniques, alongside non-confidential versions of the reports.
The Commission will meticulously review the compliance reports to evaluate the efficacy of the implemented measures in meeting the DMA’s objectives. This assessment will consider feedback from stakeholders, including insights shared during compliance workshops where gatekeepers present their strategies.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, overseeing competition policy, emphasized the transformative impact of the DMA on online markets. She highlighted the Act’s role in fostering openness and competitiveness for small businesses while offering consumers more affordable choices. Vestager expressed confidence in the DMA’s potential to reshape digital market dynamics to benefit all European participants and users.
Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Internal Market, underscored the significance of today as a milestone for the European digital landscape. Breton emphasized the DMA’s stringent obligations and enforcement mechanisms, including sanctions for non-compliance. He noted positive shifts in the market landscape, such as the emergence of alternative app stores and enhanced user control over data, attributing these changes to ongoing dialogues with gatekeepers. Breton warned of severe penalties, including the possibility of breaking up non-compliant companies, underscoring the Commission’s commitment to upholding the DMA’s principles.
The implementation of the DMA represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of digital markets, signaling a concerted effort to promote competition, fairness, and user empowerment within the European digital ecosystem.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree pardoning 52 convicted women, it was reported on 08.03.2024 today, on the eve of International Women’s Day, TASS writes.
“When making the decision to pardon, the head of state was guided by the principles of humanity. The pardoned women are mostly those with minor children, pregnant women, and also women who have relatives participating in the special military operation,” the statement said.
Later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the pardon was related to discussions in December at the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (CSC), an advisory body to the Russian president. At this meeting, the issue of amnesty for certain categories of women was raised, he specified.
“Today’s decree was signed in the context of the deliberations of the CSC meeting,” Peskov said.
Macedonian Archbishop Stefan is visiting Serbia at the invitation of Serbian Patriarch Porfiry. The officially stated reason is the third anniversary of the election of Patriarch Porfiry. Obviously, this is only an occasion for the visit, which was not announced in the Macedonian media either – in fact, Patriarch Porfiry was elected on February 18, and the visit of the Macedonian delegation was a month later. At the same time, the visit is administrative and, until now, without festive cooperation, which indicates that it is of a business nature.
Together with Archbishop Stefan, Metropolitans Prespano-Pelagoniski Petar and Debar-Kicevo Timotei arrived in Belgrade, together with Irakliski Bishop Kliment, secretary of St. Synod. At their meeting with the Serbian Patriarch, they discussed “current problems in the Orthodox world”.
The visit of the Macedonian church delegation coincides with the visit to Serbia of the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the ROC Volokolamsk Metropolitan Antony and the adviser of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill o. Nikolay Balashov, who have been in Serbia for four days and already had a meeting with the Serbian Patriarch and members of the synod of the Serbian Church.
This means that a meeting of the delegation of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate is not excluded, but such a meeting has not been officially announced.
Mitr. Antony met with the Serbian Patriarch Porfiry and the Bishop Irenaeus of Bačka, and the laconic message about their meeting says: “In a heartfelt and meaningful conversation, the mutual satisfaction with the fraternal cooperation between the two churches and the two peoples of the same faith was highlighted. The interlocutors paid special attention to overcoming the challenges facing the Orthodox Church”.
Metropolitan Antony also met the Russian ambassador in Belgrade, and the same sentence was used for the content of the talks: “… special attention was paid to overcoming the challenges facing the Orthodox Church”, without specifying what exactly they were.
Analysts assume that the head of the MOC has been invited to Belgrade to hold a meeting with the Moscow delegation. The information portal “Religia.mk” reports that the invitation to a meeting in Belgrade comes a few days after St. The Synod of the MOC has decided to form a commission to review its attitude towards the autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine. For the Kremlin, the ecclesiastical isolation of the autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine is a key element of their policy in Ukraine.
What is characteristic of a Christian? Faith that works by love (Gal. 5:6).
What is inherent in faith? An unbiased confidence in the truth of God’s inspired words, which is not shaken either by a thought arising from natural necessity, or by apparent piety.
What is characteristic of the faithful? Living in this confidence through the power of the things said, not daring to remove or add anything. Because if “everything that is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23), according to what the apostle said, “and faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), then anything outside of the inspired Scriptures, not being of faith, is sin.
What is characteristic of the love of God? Keeping His commandments while seeking His glory.
What is characteristic of love for one’s neighbor? Not to seek one’s own, but that which is of both spiritual and physical benefit to the loved one.
What is characteristic of a Christian? Being born again through the baptism of water and the Spirit.
What is characteristic of the water born? That, as Christ died for sin once and for all, so that he may be dead and impervious to all transgression, according to what is written: “as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death; and so we were buried with Him through baptism into death, knowing this that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the sinful body might be destroyed, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom. 6:3-4a, 6 ).
What is characteristic of being born of the Spirit? To become according to the measure given to him what he was born of, according to what is written “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).
What is characteristic of the born above? To put off the old man with his deeds and longings and to put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge, in the image of his Creator (cf. Col. 3:9-10), according to what was said: “all who were baptized into Christ, in You have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27).
What is characteristic of a Christian? Cleansing from all carnal and spiritual defilement through the blood of Christ and doing holy works with the fear of God and with the love of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 7:1), and not having a spot or vice or anything like that, but being holy and blameless (Eph. 5:27), and thus to eat the body of Christ and drink the blood, “for whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks his condemnation” (1 Cor. 11:29).
What is characteristic of those who eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord? The constant preservation of the memory of Him Who for us died and rose again.
What is characteristic of those who store this memory? That they live not for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them (2 Cor. 5:15).
What is characteristic of a Christian? To surpass in righteousness in everything the scribes and the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20), according to the measure of the Lord’s teaching according to the Gospel.
What is characteristic of a Christian? Love one another as Christ loved us (Eph. 5:2).
What is characteristic of a Christian? To always see the Lord before him (Ps. 15:8).
What is characteristic of a Christian? To be awake every day and hour and constantly ready in the greatest perfection to please God, knowing that the Lord will come at an hour he does not expect (cf. Luke 12:40).
Note: The moral rules (Regulae morales; Ἀρχή τῶν ἠθικῶν) are a work of St. Basil the Great, in which he fulfills to the best of his ability his promise given to ascetics in the region of Pontus: to collect in one place the prohibitions and obligations scattered here and there in the New Testament for the one who lives according to the commandments of God. These are spiritual instructions that to some extent resemble a handy reference book to the New Testament texts. They contain eighty rules, with each rule divided into a different number of chapters.
The last Rule 80 contains twenty-two chapters dealing generally with what Christians ought to be, as well as those entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel.
This rule ends with Chapter 22, which however stands differently from the others. Perhaps it should be seen as an epilogue to the entire Moral Rules. Of course, in it too the saint remains true to himself, filling it with quotations and allusions to biblical texts, but at the same time, when reading it, one is left with the feeling of a constant elevation, in which each answer leads to the next question.
During a recent visit to Brussels of Alona Lebedeva, the head of the industrial Aurum Group, I had the opportunity to meet and interview her about her professional career and her commitment to help Ukrainian children
Alona Lebedeva was born in 1983 in the city of Yaroslavl, 250 km northeast of Moscow, at the time of the Soviet Union. The country was then under the short rule of Yuri Andropov (November 1982 – February 1984) who was to be followed by Konstantin Chernenko for a short period (February 1984 – March 1985). It is mainly under the rule of Mikhail Gorbatchev, characterized by his glasnost and perestroika policy, that Alona Lebedeva spent her childhood in the Soviet Union.
Early in her youth, she dreamt to be an independent woman who would take her own life in her own hands.
When she was in the 9th grade, she decided that one day she would move to Kyiv and she prepared for it. She loved literature, read books night after night, wrote articles, poems and fiction works. Her first dream was to enroll in journalism because she wanted to drive, to travel, to write reports from hot spots. But later on, after having soberly evaluated and weighed all the pros and cons, she decided to follow another orientation: diplomacy combined with economics.
In 2000, she graduated with honors from Secondary School No. 3 in Chernivtsi. She went to Kyiv and enrolled in the National Taras Shevchenko University, Institute of International Relations, Department International Economic Relations. Travelling abroad and gaining experience was the next step in her life: an internship in a consulting company in Austria in 2001 and several internships in Ukraine. She graduated in 2006 in international economic relations.
She then became the financial director of the Inter Car Group (ICG) for which she had previously worked during her studies as a trade agent and afterwards as a sales manager.
In 2009, she bought all the shares of ICG which she renamed Aurum Trans in 2016. Soon afterwards, she created the Aurum Group in Kyiv, which is now a large corporation grouping together over 20 big enterprises. A number of them produce railway wagons, are engineering businesses, chemical plants, agricultural enterprises, etc. Alona Lebedeva is now the major owner of it.
Talking with Alona Lebedeva, a woman in leadership and a heart for children 6
Q.: When was the “Charity Foundation of Alona Lebedeva Aurum” founded and why did it first start with the assistance to children in need of medical treatment?
A.L. The idea of helping children first started in my mind on a Christmas Eve. While scrolling Facebook I found an article about a new born baby whose parents were asking for financial support for surgery. What impressed me a lot is that in the support letter, it was written «For someone, getting a new Iphone for Christmas is the most important thing and for the another, that amount of money will safe a life.» On the next day, I covered all expenses for the surgery of the baby and now he is a healthy and cheerful boy.
The real starting point of a charity foundation was an incident in my professional environment: the emergency transfer of the 7-year-old grandson of one of our employees to the Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital. Our Ukrainian doctors who receive a very small salary, are under-equipped and work in conditions that mostly do not meet modern require with an incident, could not guarantee that they would be able to save the child but they managed it.
So by chance, having plunged into the problems of one clinic, we decided to systematically help modernize children’s municipal hospitals. In 2017 we registered the “Charitable Foundation of Alona Lebedeva Aurum” and began repair work. Of course, our first object was the Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, where they saved the life of our employee’s grandson but the amount of work is still extremely large and without the help of benefactors, it is difficult for the state to do it alone.
Talking with Alona Lebedeva, a woman in leadership and a heart for children 7
Q.: What were your first projects?
A.L.: I will give you a few highlights of the activities of our foundation which you can also find on our website with a lot of photos. In 2017, we renovated three boxed wards in the department for the treatment of children with infectious diseases of the nervous system of the Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Infectious Hospital. In all wards, the premises were renovated, new bathrooms were installed, new beds and cabinets for individual use were purchased.
In 2018, our foundation carried out repairs in the Kyiv City Children’s Clinical Hospital No. 1. The surgical ward was renovated, new windows were installed, decorative repairs were made; doors, lamps, and a sink were replaced; functional beds and new mattresses were purchased. The shower room was fully equipped: the water pipes have been replaced, the walls and floor have been decorated with ceramic tiles, three showers and a bathtub have been installed.
Talking with Alona Lebedeva, a woman in leadership and a heart for children 8
In 2019, our foundation quickly helped to purchase consumables that were needed during an emergency operation on the brain of a small child. And the baby was saved!
One year later, together with the All-Ukrainian Charity Organization “Mother and Baby”, we purchased and delivered express tests for coronavirus and respirators to children’s hospitals in Kyiv.
Three years ago, funds were allocated to the parents of little Dominika for her medical treatment. Her family owns a plot of land that was leased by one of the Aurum Group agricultural enterprises.
Talking with Alona Lebedeva, a woman in leadership and a heart for children 9
Q.: Two years ago, Russia aggressed Ukraine, is now occupying a part of its territory and goes on waging its war against your country, shelling cities, housing, schools, hospitals… What has been the impact of the war on the humanitarian activities of the Aurum Group?
A.L.: The war has dramatically impacted our usual humanitarian activities as we had to broaden the scope of our initial objectives.
When the full-scale invasion war started in February 2022, all the enterprises of the Aurum Group actively helped their communities and the military 24/7. They contributed to the delivery of bread and flour to residents of border villages.
We purchased and handed over five vehicles needed by the army, including an ambulance. One of the cars went to the military from the 93rd brigade of Cold River. We provided one of the units of the Armed Forces with a portable solar power plant. We delivered food kits to civilians, the Armed Forces and rescuers in the war zone. We gave the border guards reinforced concrete blocks, necessary for strengthening the border with the aggressor country, staples and anti-tank hedgehogs.
We received warm thanks from the 5th detachment of the State Border Guard Service (DPSU) for our contribution to strengthening the security of the state border, our fruitful cooperation in the fight for territorial integrity and the independence of Ukraine.
More than 1,000 slab carriers were also handed over, 200 of which were with slabs, for a total amount of over UAH 2.5 million. During the year, we held many events sponsored by the enterprises of the Aurum Group and we were hereby able to cover the needs of waste disposal in the regions for a total amount of over UAH 3 million.
Q.: Didn’t your usual civilian health projects suffer from your prioritizing war-related assistance?
Of course, we did not interrupt those medical projects. For example, in 2022, we sent two batches of the life-saving drug Euthyrox to patients of several institutes of endocrinology in Ukraine. Also, in cooperation with other charitable foundations, we supplied medicines to the KP Kryvorizky Oncology Dispensary.
We have also founded a charity foundation in Brussels to help Ukrainian children while they are in Europe. The non-profit organization “Aurum Charitable Foundation” helps Ukrainian children affected by the war gain access to critical medicine in Europe.
We financially supported a children’s sleep laboratory which was launched for the first time in Ukraine.
Talking with Alona Lebedeva, a woman in leadership and a heart for children 10
Since the beginning of the war, most of our assets have been under occupation. The rest of them are unprofitable but constant funding is required, Although, of course, the volume of financial support has significantly decreased, I have not closed our charitable projects.
In the first half of 2023, the Aurum Charity Foundation of Alona Lebedeva implemented projects for a total amount of about 2.5 million hryvnias: over 1.9 million hryvnias for the needs of the military, 350 thousand hryvnias for aid to communities and the population affected by the war and another UAH 200,000 for medical care.
In a moving statement coinciding with the celebration of International Women’s Day this Friday, March 8, the Pope praised the fundamental role played by women in the world, highlighting their ability to “make the world more beautiful” through their protection and vitality.
During his message, the leader of the Catholic Church underscored the importance of the female contribution not only within the family and work environment, but also in their essential role in sustainability and care for the planet. “Women make the world more beautiful, protect it and keep it alive,” he said. These words resonate as a recognition of the strength, tenderness and wisdom that characterize women, and how these qualities contribute significantly to the improvement of our environment.
This tribute comes at a crucial time, where the struggle for gender equality and the recognition of women’s rights continues to be high on the global agenda. In highlighting the beauty that women bring to the world, the Pope also implicitly calls for the need to protect and value their contributions to all aspects of society.
The Pope’s statement not only celebrates the unique qualities women bring to humanity, but also serves as a reminder of the challenges women still face in many parts of the world. Gender equality, access to education, protection from violence and discrimination, and equal participation in decision-making are areas where significant progress is still needed.
As we commemorate International Women’s Day, Pope Francis’ message highlights the indispensable contribution of women to the creation of a more just, equitable and sustainable world. His call to recognize and celebrate the beauty and vitality that women bring to the world is a positive step towards promoting a society that values equality and respect for all its members.
This recognition of women by the Pope reinforces the importance of continuing to work towards a world where everyone’s contributions are valued equally, and where women can live free from discrimination and violence. The celebration of International Women’s Day serves as an annual reminder of the achievements made and challenges remaining in the struggle for gender equality, echoing the Pope’s words in the quest for a world that recognizes and celebrates the beauty and vitality that women bring to our collective existence.
As the holy fasting month of Ramadan for Muslims approaches, Fatih Municipality teams in Istanbul carried out cleaning and disinfection activities at the converted Hagia Sophia mosque.
Teams of the Municipal Directorate “Environmental Protection and Control” cleaned the interior and surroundings of the historic building.
Carpets were vacuumed, shoe racks and the inside of the mosque were sprayed with disinfectant. The fountains for ritual washing “abtest”, the courtyard of the mosque and the square “St. Sofia” were washed with hot water and disinfectant.
After the cleaning process inside and outside the mosque was sprinkled with rose water, a traditional method that dates back to the Ottoman Empire era.
Fatih Yildiz, a municipal official in charge of the cleanup, said the mosque was cleaned with a team of 20 people, noting, “The work will continue throughout Ramadan. Rose water will be sprinkled in the mosque every night during the holy month. The aim is to provide a cleaner worship environment for citizens visiting the mosque.”
The huge “Mahya” – the light inscriptions with hundreds of light bulbs between the minarets with the inscription “La ilaha illallah” (“There is no God but Allah”) was hung between the minarets of the Grand Mosque of Hagia Sophia.
The centuries-old tradition of Mahya, which decorates mosques during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, began to be hung in mosques in Istanbul from Monday.
Kahraman Yildiz, the master of Mahya, commented: “The largest letters are in the Hagia Sophia mosque. It is difficult, but worth the effort, because the inscriptions can be read from tens of meters away. It’s actually craftsmanship and it’s hard, it’s hard work, but it looks very beautiful visually.”
Hagia Sophia was built in 532. It served as a church for 916 years. It was converted into a mosque in 1453 after the capture of Istanbul.
After the founding of the Republic of Turkey, the historic building was a museum for 86 years, but on July 24, 2020, with the decision of President Erdogan, it was officially reopened for worship under the name Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
In 1985 Hagia Sophia was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Hagia Sophia is also among the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey and remains open to local and foreign visitors.
On 5 March, a Russian court in Irkutsk convicted nine Jehovah’s Witness men, sentencing them from three to seven years of prison. The case began in 2021, when officers raided some 15 homes, beating and torturing at least 4 people (details below). Eight of the nine men convicted have been in pretrial detention for nearly 2.5 years, most spending the majority of the time in solitary confinement. They report receiving 150-200 letters of support from friends and family each month!
6 years, 4 months – Igor Popov (36) and Denis Sarazhakov (35)
3 years – Sergei Vasiliyev (72)
Jarrod Lopes, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, stated in a press release: “There is no logical reasonable basis for having these good men imprisoned, separated from their wives and friends. The charges were largely based on secret audio recordings of worship services, where the men were praying, singing Christian songs, and reading from the Bible. Ironically, one of the passages read was Psalm 34:14: “Seek peace and pursue it.” What does it say about a legal system that convicts people of extremist activity for reading a Bible verse that promotes peace? It’s patently absurd. It would be a joke if the consequences weren’t so serious. We implore Russian officials to reconsider its misconceptions about Jehovah’s Witnesses and allow these peace-loving men and women to worship freely in their beloved homeland as Witnesses do in some 240 other lands.”
October 4, 2021. About 6 am., dozens of armed national guard officers and special forces soldiers raided 13 homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Two men were beaten and tortured (see link to video interview).
At the home of Anatoly and Greta Razdobarov, officers forced their way into the couple’s bedroom. The officers dragged Greta by her hair into another room, handcuffed her with her arms behind her back, and repeatedly hit her. Meanwhile, Anatoly was stripped naked, forced to the floor, handcuffed with his arms behind his back, and kicked in the head and abdomen. Officers grabbed his handcuffed hands and wrenched him up off the ground. Anatoly writhed in pain as the weight of his body hyperextended his shoulders. Officers beat his hands while demanding that he incriminate himself and divulge information about the brothers. Officers further tortured him by trying to force a glass bottle into his buttocks. The raid on the Razdobarov’s home lasted over eight hours.
At the home of Nikolay and Liliya Merinov, officers entered and immediately struck Nikolay in the face with a heavy, blunt object. He fell to the floor and passed out. Upon regaining consciousness, he found an officer sitting on top of him, beating him. The officer broke Nikolay’s front teeth. Liliya was dragged out of bed by her hair and handcuffed. The officers then repeatedly physically assaulted her before eventually allowing her to get properly dressed.
October 5, 2021. Yaroslav Kalin, Sergey Kosteyev, Nikolay Martynov, Mikhail Moysh, Alexey Solnechniy and Andrey Tolmachev were placed in pretrial detention, while Sergei Vasiliyev was ordered to house arrest.
November 30, 2021. Security officials purposely crashed into Denis Sarazhakov’s car in the yard to get his attention. One of the officials pretended to be drunk. When Denis opened the door to investigate, the officers knocked him to the floor and began to search the home (village of Askiz, Republic of Khakassia). Dennis was detained and taken 1500 km to Irkutsk. On the same day, at about 3 am., security forces in Mezhdurechensk (Kemerovo Region) raided the home of Igor Popov and detained him.
December 29, 2022. The criminal trial began (See link for additional details).
Nationwide Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia and Crimea
Since Russia’s Supreme Court banned the Witnesses’ activities in April 2017
2,083 homes of Witnesses were raided across 74 regions
794 men and women were criminally charged
506 men and women were added to the federal list of extremists and terrorists (Rosfinmonitoring)
415 men and women have spent some time behind bars, with 128 currently in prison.
(*) Note: The Razdobarovs and Merinovs were not criminally charged, along with the men involved in the 5 March verdict. Both men were involved as Witnesses
