Russia's mysterious campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses
ABC News
Russia's mysterious campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses has resulted in hundreds detained.
MOSCOW -- In a bright, spotless apartment in a Moscow suburb, a small circle of people sat around a table in December 2019. Bowls of candies and teapots were set out, along with salads. The group opened the meeting with a prayer and a hymn -- most of them shy and just murmuring along, raising their voices a little above some background music played on a television showing a preacher in a suit. The people present were Jehovah's Witnesses -- a Christian religious sect first founded in the United States in the 19th century but now has an estimated 8 million followers around the world. In many countries, such meetings would be nothing unusual. But in Russia, authorities now treat them as illegal, designating them as gatherings of "extremists."More Related News