Translated material
In the Rostov region, a court is considering a lawsuit to recognize Jehovah's Witnesses' materials as extremist
At the beginning of July 2009, it became known that in Salsk (Rostov region) the court hearing of the suit filed by the city prosecutor's office to recognize a number of Jehovah's Witnesses' materials as extremist was ongoing. About what exactly the materials in question are not reported.
The corresponding statement of claim was sent by the prosecutor's office to the Salsk city court on December 18, 2008. Court hearings began on March 12.
In May 2009, the court partially granted the request of the prosecutor's office to order a psychological and linguistic examination of the materials. A religious examination was also appointed. The venue was the "Russian Federal Center for Forensic Expertise under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation", located in Moscow. Previously, the study was supposed to be carried out at the "Southern Regional Center for Forensic Expertise" in Rostov-on-Don. The proceedings were suspended.
The prosecutor's office sent a cassation appeal to the regional court, demanding that this decision be canceled on the grounds that religious expertise is unnecessary, and the involvement of a Moscow, rather than a local institution would lead to unnecessarily high financial costs. On June 25, the Rostov Regional Court satisfied the demands of the prosecutor's office.
According to the press service of Jehovah's Witnesses, the decision to appoint an expert examination cannot be challenged, as they were previously informed when considering one of their complaints in the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.
Let us recall that this is not the first time that the Rostov authorities have attempted to recognize the materials of the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist.
See also the section "Nationalism and xenophobia" .
Inc. inf. Interference in the Administration of Justice in the Rostov Region // Communication from the Press Service of the Russian Organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. 2009. July 3.