In Southern Russia, activities of head office of Jehovah's Witnesses suspended because of accusations of extremism

On March 23, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced the suspension of the activities of the management centre of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. This decision will affect the religious communities throughout the country, stated Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the centre of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that representatives of the centre of Jehovah's Witnesses announced a campaign to "recognize the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist and ban them throughout the country."

"Believers have learned from the media about a lawsuit filed for liquidation of their management centre... The adversarial principle and the principle of equality of the parties have been grossly violated," reports the official website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Believers also report about frequent cases of planting of extremist printed materials to liturgical buildings of Jehovah's Witnesses.

In Southern Russia, at least four local organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses were liquidated on the basis of the use of literature included in the list of extremist materials.

The international community has repeatedly drawn attention to the application of the law on extremism against Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.