A criminal case has been opened in Kursk regarding involvement in the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses

Distribution of leaflets of Jehovah's Witnesses in the market was considered involvement in the activities of a banned organization.

On August 11, 2017, from the message of the prosecutor's office of the Central Administrative District of Kursk, it became known about the criminal case initiated under Part 1.1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (involvement in the activities of an extremist organization) on the fact of distribution of materials of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The case was initiated as a result of checking the application of a local resident. During the inspection, law enforcement officers established that on August 4, 2017, a resident of Kursk and her 15-year-old son on the territory of the Central Market " distributed leaflets, agitating passers-by to become members of the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses" , while " they had the appropriate certificates with them ". The initiation of a criminal case on this fact was recognized by the prosecutor's office as legal.

The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, along with 395 local religious organizations, was recognized as an extremist organization on April 20, 2017 by the Supreme Court of Russia. An appeal against this decision was dismissed on 17 July. As far as we know, the criminal case initiated in Kursk is the first to be connected precisely with this ban.

From our point of view, the liquidation of organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses for extremism and the persecution of members of their communities have no legal basis and are a clear manifestation of religious discrimination.

Sources

• The prosecutor's office of the Central Administrative District of Kursk recognized as lawful the decision to initiate a criminal case on involvement in the activities of an extremist organization // Website of the Prosecutor's Office of the Kursk region. 2017. August 11.