In the occupied territories of the Russian Federation, 43 priests were persecuted, and five were killed - the media
According to the publication, in 18 cases, the priests had to flee from the city, hide or cease their activities, and in 12 cases were forcibly deported. Five was killed, eight more were captured. Journalists have counted at least 109 cases where pressure was put on churches and religious figures. According to the newspaper, Russian troops were pursued by Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants, Jehovahs, and Muslims.
As for the persecution of the Orthodox, these were pressure on both the PCU and the UOC -MP. Journalists said that in March 2022, Russian servicemen surrounded the night of the Pastor of the Melitopol Christian Church Viktor Sergeyev. He was sent to interrogation together with other clergy and parishioners who lived in the neighborhood.
The Russian military demanded that the representative of the church would write on the building "Russia" and urged the believers not to participate in rallies against occupation. In Mariupol, a pastor of the Baptist Church was stolen with his wife after refusing to give the temple as a referendum.
Journalists also wrote about the Imam of the Crimean Tatar community "Birlyk" by Rustem Asanov from Kherson region, according to which, for several days he was subjected to torture in one of the basements due to suspicions of relations with the Armed Forces. Cases of murders of clergymen were recorded in at least three regions: Donetsk, Kiev and Kherson. Recall that journalists exposed high -ranking officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation involved in military crimes near Kiev.