Ban of legal entities

A lawsuit has been filed with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to liquidate the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia

Moscow,   St. Petersburg

On the website of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, information appeared that the Ministry of Justice of Russia filed a lawsuit to recognize the "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" as an extremist organization, liquidate and ban activities. However, the religious organization did not receive the relevant documents. Millions of believers around the world consider the ministry's actions a big mistake. If successful, the lawsuit would have disastrous consequences for religious freedom in Russia, directly affecting about 400 registered local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, and would affect all 2,277 religious groups across the country, uniting 175,000 followers of this religion.

Extremism is profoundly alien to the biblically based beliefs and morals of Jehovah's Witnesses. The persecution of peaceful believers under anti-extremist legislation is based on outright falsifications, unprofessionalism of individual "experts" and, as a result, on judicial errors.

Banning the activities of the Jehovah's Witnesses center may result in criminal prosecution of believers simply for practicing their religion - reading the Bible together, singing and praying. This was clearly shown by the sensational criminal case of sixteen believers, men, women and minors, who were sentenced to heavy fines and more than 5 years of suspended imprisonment after the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses "Taganrog" was recognized as extremist and liquidated.

"Our prosecutors are carried away by the game of building a tower that is destined to collapse ," says Yaroslav Sivulsky of the steering committee of the religious organization . For alleged incitement to rebellion, the first Christians were persecuted and Christ himself was executed, and God did not like it. Modern oppression for faith in Russia is also by no means a godly deed."

Vasily Kalin, chairman of the organization's steering committee, said: "Each of us, Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, only sincerely wants to worship our God peacefully. Unfortunately, for more than 100 years, the authorities in Russia have been trampling on their own legislation guaranteeing us this right. In Stalin's time, when I was still a child, our entire family was exiled to Siberia simply because we were Jehovah's Witnesses. It's a shame and sadness that my children and grandchildren will have to face something similar."