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00:00:05 I regularly visit my mother 00:00:07 to clean the house, to prepare meals, 00:00:10 and, well, to just spend some time with her. 00:00:13 A criminal case was initiated 00:00:15 against Vitaliy’s mother, Olga Opaleva, 00:00:18 on November 12, 2018. 00:00:22 On November 25, officers raided her apartment 00:00:25 and the homes of three other fellow believers. 00:00:28 She was 66 years old at the time. 00:00:33 They used a saw 00:00:36 to break through my door. 00:00:38 They asked me, “Why didn’t you open up?” 00:00:41 I couldn’t answer them because just the night before, 00:00:44 I had had a heart attack. 00:00:46 Neither Olga’s age nor her health condition 00:00:50 stopped the law enforcement officers’ cruel 00:00:53 and inhumane treatment. 00:00:56 One of the officers called the investigator. 00:01:00 They told him what happened 00:01:02 and that they had called an ambulance. 00:01:05 Anyway, the investigator said, 00:01:08 “Bring her in for interrogation.” 00:01:10 So they did. 00:01:12 Olga spent the next two days in a temporary detention facility. 00:01:16 After I had the heart attack, 00:01:18 I, of course, felt very ill. 00:01:20 They handcuffed me, 00:01:23 took me to court, and put me into that cage. 00:01:26 The court ordered Olga to be placed under house arrest. 00:01:32 She is accused of discussing 00:01:35 Bible topics with people, 00:01:36 and these kinds of conversations 00:01:38 are interpreted by the investigation as recruitment. 00:01:42 The prosecution doesn’t deny the fact that Olga Opaleva 00:01:46 has done no harm —no real harm to anyone. 00:01:50 On October 10, 2019, 00:01:53 Olga had to return to court. 00:01:55 When the Federal Penitentiary Service vehicle 00:01:57 arrived to take her to court, she suffered a stroke. 00:02:02 Olga was eventually taken by ambulance 00:02:04 to a local hospital and placed in intensive care. 00:02:08 According to her medical records, 00:02:10 when she was admitted to the hospital, she was in critical condition. 00:02:13 At the time of her stroke, she was under house arrest. 00:02:18 To say that I was worried when I saw her in that condition 00:02:21 would be putting it mildly. 00:02:23 When our eyes met, the first thing she did 00:02:27 was smile and then she cried. 00:02:30 A few days after Olga had the stroke, 00:02:33 her only son, Vitaliy Ilinykh, 00:02:36 was detained. 00:02:38 All of this litigation began with the criminal prosecution of my mother, 00:02:43 and now it has affected me. 00:02:45 The court imposed a restriction 00:02:47 in the form of a recognizance agreement on Vitaliy. 00:02:50 Now both mother and son 00:02:51 are named in criminal cases because of their faith. 00:02:55 As the investigator told me, 00:02:57 “If you remain one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:03:00 in essence, then you’re an ‘extremist.’” 00:03:03 The investigator refused to listen when I tried to explain the difference 00:03:07 between faith and a legal entity. 00:03:10 He said: “That doesn’t interest me at all. 00:03:14 “I’m just doing my job. 00:03:16 I’m told what to do, and I do it.” 00:03:19 It’s absurd to accuse people like Olga and Vitaliy 00:03:22 of activities of an “extremist” nature. 00:03:24 It is becoming standard practice among law enforcement agencies 00:03:28 to inflate the statistics of their so-called successful fight 00:03:32 against “extremism” by prosecuting peaceful religious believers. 00:03:35 Often when investigators have accused somebody, 00:03:38 they subsequently bring charges against their relatives. 00:03:41 Olga and Vitaliy do not intend to give up, 00:03:44 and the persecution has not caused their faith in God to waver. 00:03:48 It’s better to be in prison with God than to be free without God.
00:00:05 I regularly visit my mother 00:00:07 to clean the house, to prepare meals, 00:00:10 and, well, to just spend some time with her. 00:00:13 A criminal case was initiated 00:00:15 against Vitaliy’s mother, Olga Opaleva, 00:00:18 on November 12, 2018. 00:00:22 On November 25, officers raided her apartment 00:00:25 and the homes of three other fellow believers. 00:00:28 She was 66 years old at the time. 00:00:33 They used a saw 00:00:36 to break through my door. 00:00:38 They asked me, “Why didn’t you open up?” 00:00:41 I couldn’t answer them because just the night before, 00:00:44 I had had a heart attack. 00:00:46 Neither Olga’s age nor her health condition 00:00:50 stopped the law enforcement officers’ cruel 00:00:53 and inhumane treatment. 00:00:56 One of the officers called the investigator. 00:01:00 They told him what happened 00:01:02 and that they had called an ambulance. 00:01:05 Anyway, the investigator said, 00:01:08 “Bring her in for interrogation.” 00:01:10 So they did. 00:01:12 Olga spent the next two days in a temporary detention facility. 00:01:16 After I had the heart attack, 00:01:18 I, of course, felt very ill. 00:01:20 They handcuffed me, 00:01:23 took me to court, and put me into that cage. 00:01:26 The court ordered Olga to be placed under house arrest. 00:01:32 She is accused of discussing 00:01:35 Bible topics with people, 00:01:36 and these kinds of conversations 00:01:38 are interpreted by the investigation as recruitment. 00:01:42 The prosecution doesn’t deny the fact that Olga Opaleva 00:01:46 has done no harm —no real harm to anyone. 00:01:50 On October 10, 2019, 00:01:53 Olga had to return to court. 00:01:55 When the Federal Penitentiary Service vehicle 00:01:57 arrived to take her to court, she suffered a stroke. 00:02:02 Olga was eventually taken by ambulance 00:02:04 to a local hospital and placed in intensive care. 00:02:08 According to her medical records, 00:02:10 when she was admitted to the hospital, she was in critical condition. 00:02:13 At the time of her stroke, she was under house arrest. 00:02:18 To say that I was worried when I saw her in that condition 00:02:21 would be putting it mildly. 00:02:23 When our eyes met, the first thing she did 00:02:27 was smile and then she cried. 00:02:30 A few days after Olga had the stroke, 00:02:33 her only son, Vitaliy Ilinykh, 00:02:36 was detained. 00:02:38 All of this litigation began with the criminal prosecution of my mother, 00:02:43 and now it has affected me. 00:02:45 The court imposed a restriction 00:02:47 in the form of a recognizance agreement on Vitaliy. 00:02:50 Now both mother and son 00:02:51 are named in criminal cases because of their faith. 00:02:55 As the investigator told me, 00:02:57 “If you remain one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 00:03:00 in essence, then you’re an ‘extremist.’” 00:03:03 The investigator refused to listen when I tried to explain the difference 00:03:07 between faith and a legal entity. 00:03:10 He said: “That doesn’t interest me at all. 00:03:14 “I’m just doing my job. 00:03:16 I’m told what to do, and I do it.” 00:03:19 It’s absurd to accuse people like Olga and Vitaliy 00:03:22 of activities of an “extremist” nature. 00:03:24 It is becoming standard practice among law enforcement agencies 00:03:28 to inflate the statistics of their so-called successful fight 00:03:32 against “extremism” by prosecuting peaceful religious believers. 00:03:35 Often when investigators have accused somebody, 00:03:38 they subsequently bring charges against their relatives. 00:03:41 Olga and Vitaliy do not intend to give up, 00:03:44 and the persecution has not caused their faith in God to waver. 00:03:48 It’s better to be in prison with God than to be free without God.
