U.S.A. CONCERNED BY DECISION OF RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT TO BAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
by Dmitry Zlodorev
The U.S.A. "is extremely concerned" by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian federation to include Jehovah's Witnesses among extremist organizations, an official representative of the Department of State, Mark Toner, declared on Friday.
"The U.S.A. is extremely concerned by the suppression in Russia of religious minorities, including the Jehovah's Witnesses," he noted.
Toner called the U.S.A. "to guarantee that laws for combating terrorism and extremism will not be applied with respect to peaceful religious minorities." He also urged Russian authorities "to eliminate the ban on the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses."
The Russian Supreme Court on 20 April ruled the activity of the "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" to be extremist and prohibited its work. Representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses declared their intention to appeal this decision in the European Court for Human Rights. The German foreign ministry and the Foreign Policy Service of the European Union spoke out in defense of the organization. (tr. by PDS, posted 23 April 2017)
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