With masks and rifles, police came to Anatoly Vilitkevich's door in the early morning and made him pack a bag. He was wanted for religious extremism -- as a Jehovah's Witness. "Forget it," they told his wife, Alyona, taking away the couple's tablet devices, computers and phones. "Go and find a new phone, a new tablet and a new husband."

Vilitkevich, who lives in the industrial city of Ufa, was one of more than 20 members of the US-founded Christian movement detained across Russia in recent months. They risk up to 10 years in jail, according to Human Rights Watch. Various groups have been targeted under a 2016 anti-extremism law. An additional 2017 Supreme Court ruling targeted the Jehovah's Witnesses specifically, ordering their dissolution in Russia.

Standard Digital - Russia pursues Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists'