The head of the Jehovah's Witnesses community was fined for extremist literature

On January 25, 2017, the Dzerzhinsky City Court of the Nizhny Novgorod Region fined the head of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses 4,000 rubles under Art. 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (storage of extremist materials for the purpose of their mass distribution). This is reported by Interfax-Religion.

During an inspection in a building used for worship, two brochures recognized as extremist were found in the toilet room for the disabled. The believers stated that the found literature was planted on them, as they make sure that recognized extremist literature is not in their premises. Prohibited brochures confiscated by the court.

The SOVA Information and Analytical Center regards the ban on the literature of Jehovah's Witnesses and the persecution of believers for extremism as religious discrimination.