Translated material
The Supreme Court recognized the legality of the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
On July 17, the Supreme Court upheld the decision to recognize Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia as an extremist organization, ban their activities and liquidate them. Interfax reports this.
The liquidation decision thus entered into legal force.
“Jehovah's Witnesses [since their publications were included in the list of prohibited materials] have been reading and discussing the Bible. They did not use extremist literature because it simply did not exist - the books were destroyed by the believers themselves, since the restoration of their rights took too long. If some copies remain, then only in the homes of believers - not for distribution, but for personal reading,” the agency quotes lawyer Anton Omelchenko as saying.
On March 15, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court to recognize the association as extremist and to liquidate it. The ministry believes that the organization violates “the statutory goals and objectives, as well as current legislation.”
On April 20, the Supreme Court upheld the claim of the Ministry of Justice and recognized Jehovah's Witnesses as an extremist organization.