Translated material
The Supreme Court confirmed the decision to liquidate the Belgorod community of Jehovah's Witnesses
The local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgorod has been declared extremist by Russia's Supreme Court.
On June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Russia rejected the appeal of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Belgorod and upheld the decision to liquidate it for carrying out extremist activities.
The Belgorod Regional Court ruled to liquidate the Belgorod community of Jehovah's Witnesses on February 11, 2016. The prosecutor's office stated in court that the organization distributed materials promoting the superiority or inferiority of a person on the basis of his religious affiliation or attitude to religion, and committed other violations of anti-extremist legislation. A day earlier, a similar decision had been made with regard to the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in Stary Oskol.
Earlier, organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog , Samara and Abinsk in the Krasnodar Territory were recognized as extremist in Russia, and in Taganrog were convicted 16 of its members for continuing the activities of the community. In 2015, the prosecutor's office of Cherkessk was going to achieve the liquidation of the local organization . An attempt to close the community of Jehovah's Witnesses ended unsuccessfully for the prosecutor's office in Gorno-Altaisk , the Arkhangelsk Regional Court in 2016 also refused to liquidate the local community, and the decision to liquidate the Tyumen organization of Jehovah's Witnesses was canceled by the Supreme Court. in 2004 was the first to be liquidated The Moscow community of Jehovah's Witnesses , and the process began even before the adoption of the law "On countering extremist activity." The community managed to register again only in 2015.
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.
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