Russia Supreme Court bans Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia Supreme Court bans Jehovah’s Witnesses

Russia ’ s Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling banning Jehovah ’ s Witnesses after the justice ministry called on it to dissolve the “ extremist organisation ” .
Supreme Court judge Yury Ivanenko said Russia had decided to close down “ the administrative centre of Jehovah ’ s Witnesses and the local organisations in its fold and turn their property over to the Russian Federation . ”
The decision comes after the ministry said it had found signs of “ extremist activity ” within the organisation and requested that it be banned .
“ They represent a threat to the rights of people, public order and public safety , ” Russian news agencies quoted justice ministry representative Svetlana Borisova as saying.
The group , which has 395 centres across Russia , has vowed to appeal the decision .
“ I ’ m shocked , ” Yaroslav Sivulsky , who represents the group’ s administrative centre , told reporters.
“ I didn ’ t expect that this could be possible in modern Russia , where the constitution guarantees freedom of religious practice . ”
Russia ’ s Jehovah Witnesses have had several run - ins with law enforcement in recent years .
In January , the chairman of the group ’ s branch in the town of Dzerzhinsk was fined for having distributed material that authorities deem extremist , local media reported .
In 2004 Moscow dissolved a branch of the Jehovah ’ s Witnesses . The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that the move had violated the rights of freedom of religion and association .

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