Russia’s Supreme Court has formally declared Jehovah’s Witness as an “extremist” organization and ordered it to hand over all its property to the state.
This is even as Russian authorities have put several of the group’s publications on a list of banned extremist literature and prosecutors have long cast it as an organization that destroys families, fosters hatred and threatens lives.
The group, a United States-based none Trinitarian Christian denomination known for its door-to-door preaching and rejection of military service and blood transfusions, says this description is false.
Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Cherepanov, a Jehovah’s Witnesses representative, as saying that the group will appeal the decision in the European Court of Human Rights.
“We will do everything possible,” he said.
The religious organization has expanded around the world and has about eight million active followers.
It has faced court proceedings in several countries, mostly over its pacifism and rejection of blood transfusions, but Russia has been most outspoken in portraying it as an extremist cult.
Its Russian branch, based near St Petersburg, has regularly rejected this allegation.
It has said that a ban would directly affect about 400 of its groups and have an impact on all of its 2,277 religious groups in Russia, where it says it has 175,000 followers.
Sources: Reuters. [myad]
