Russian Supreme Court refuses to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses branch

[Guest Nicole]

MOSCOW, April 15 (RAPSI, Artem Ponomarev) – Russia’s Supreme Court on Friday declined to ban the Jehovah’s Witnesses of Tyumen as extremist organization, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The Tyumen Regional Court ordered the liquidation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses branch in 2015. The court granted a motion filed by prosecutors and declared the group extremist.The Supreme Court thus reversed the lower court’s ruling.

According to a representative for the Jehovah’s Witnesses branch, the case has been framed up.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have had many legal problems in Russia.

In March 2015, a court in Tyumen fined the organization 50,000 rubles ($752) and seized prohibited literature.

In January 2014, a court in Kurgan ruled to ban the organization’s booklets as extremist. The books talk about how to have a happy life, what you can hope for, how to develop good relations with God and what you should know about God and its meaning.

In late December 2013, the leader of the sect’s group in Tobolsk, Siberia was charged with extremism and the prevention of a blood transfusion that nearly led to the death of a female member of the group.

In 2004, a court in Moscow dissolved and banned a Jehovah’s Witnesses group on charges of recruiting children, encouraging believers to break from their families, inciting suicide and preventing believers from accepting medical assistance.

Source: http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20160415/275877434.html

[The Librarian]

In the work of the Tyumen branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses did not find extremism

The Supreme court of the Russian Federation has cancelled the decision on liquidation of the Tyumen branch of the religious organization «Jehovah’s Witnesses»by refusing to acknowledge the extremist organization.

«The judicial Board has cancelled the decision of regional court on liquidation of the organization and recognition of its extremist activities», — said Friday the Agency «Interfax» the press service instance.

The decision on recognizing organizations as extremist was made in 2015. The defense has insisted that the case against Jehovah’s Witnesses was fabricated.

Recall that a year ago, the Leninsky district court in Tyumen for the distribution of extremist materials was fined 50 thousand rubles religious organization «Jehovah’s Witnesses».

In the information a press-services of regional Prosecutor’s office then it was reported that during their meetings the members of the organization in Tyumen from October 2014 to 28 January 2015 present were distributed literature of a religious character, included in the Federal list of extremist materials. In this regard, the Prosecutor’s office brought against religious organizations administrative case. All the forbidden literature was confiscated.

Earlier, at the beginning of March 2015, the Krasnodar regional court satisfied the claim of Prosecutor of the region on the recognition and elimination of extremist organization «Jehovah’s Witnesses» in the town of Abinsk. The basis for the claim were the facts of distribution of members of the organization of the material included in the Federal list of extremist materials.

Lawyers representing the interests of Jehovah’s witnesses, called the court’s decision was illegal, violating the constitutional rights of believers and promised to file a complaint in the Supreme court of the Russian Federation.

In November 2014, the Supreme court upheld the decision of the Samara regional court on the recognition of the local branch of the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses extremist and banning its activities. There were also revealed numerous facts storage by Jehovah’s witnesses of extremist material intended for mass distribution.

http://en.news-4-u.ru/in-the-work-of-the-tyumen-branch-of-the-jehovahs-witnesses-did-not-find-extremism.html