Russia's mysterious campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses

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."