The management center of Jehovah's Witnesses received a warning from the Prosecutor General's Office

The Prosecutor General's Office warned the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia about the inadmissibility of extremist activity.

On April 12, 2016, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia announced that it had received a warning against extremist activities. The document is dated March 2, 2016 and signed by Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Viktor Grin.

As the religious organization points out, the warning characterizes its activities as extremist and orders to eliminate all identified violations within two months. According to the federal law "On counteracting extremist activity", if the warning is not appealed and the violations are not eliminated, or if new signs of extremist activity are found in the organization's activities, the organization is subject to liquidation.

At present, local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog , Samara , and Abinsk in the Krasnodar Territory have been recognized as extremist in Russia, and have been convicted sixteen Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog for continuing the activities of the community. Decisions were also made to liquidate communities in Belgorod and Stary Oskol.

We view attempts to liquidate organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses for extremism, persecution of members of their communities, and bans on texts as religious discrimination.

Sources

• Message from the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. 2016. April 12.