Why Russia banned Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses wait in a court room in Moscow, Russia. Russia's Supreme Court has banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from operating in the country, accepting a request from the justice ministry that the religious organisation be considered an extremist group, ordering closure of the group's Russia headquarters and its 395 local chapters, as well as the seizure of its property. Picture: Ivan Sekretarev/AP

Jehovah's Witnesses wait in a court room in Moscow, Russia. Russia's Supreme Court has banned the Jehovah's Witnesses from operating in the country, accepting a request from the justice ministry that the religious organisation be considered an extremist group, ordering closure of the group's Russia headquarters and its 395 local chapters, as well as the seizure of its property. Picture: Ivan Sekretarev/AP

Published Apr 21, 2017

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Moscow - Russia's Supreme Court ruled on

Thursday that Jehovah's Witnesses were an "extremist"

organisation and must disband and hand over all property to the

state, local media said.

The religious grouping confirmed the ruling about its

"liquidation" in Russia.

"We are greatly disappointed by this development and deeply

concerned about how this will affect our religious activity,”

Yaroslav Sivulskiy, a spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in

Russia, said in emailed comments.

"We will appeal this decision, and we hope that our legal

rights and protections as a peaceful religious group will be

fully restored as soon as possible."

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia have 30 days to submit their

appeal for consideration by a three-person panel.

Religious life in Russia is dominated by the Orthodox

Church, which exerts considerable political influence and enjoys

the support of President Vladimir Putin. Some Orthodox scholars

view Jehovah's Witnesses as a 'totalitarian sect'.

Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Cherepanov, a Jehovah's

Witnesses representative, as saying that the group will appeal

to the European Court of Human Rights.

"We will do everything possible," he said.

Russian authorities have put several of the group's

publications on a list of banned extremist literature and

prosecutors have long cast it as an organisation that destroys

families, fosters hatred and threatens lives.

The group, a United States-based Christian denomination

known for its door-to-door preaching and rejection of military

service and blood transfusions, says this description is false.

The religious organisation has expanded around the world and

has about eight million active followers. It has faced court

proceedings in several countries, mostly over its pacifism and

rejection of blood transfusions, but Russia has been most

outspoken in portraying it as an extremist cult.

The ruling was issued after the justice ministry applied for

an order to shut down the group's national headquarters near St

Petersburg.

Its Russian branch, based near St Petersburg, has said a ban

would directly affect around 400 of its groups and have an

impact on all of its 2,277 religious groups in Russia, where it

says it has 175 000 followers. 

Reuters

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