ABAKAN PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE CLOSES LOCAL
JEHOVAH'S
WITNESSES FOR 80 DAYS
Yesterday an Abakan city court issued a
decision on
the basis of an order of the prosecutor's office of the capital
of Khakassia,
which harshly but legally responded to failure to comply with
requirements of
this oversight agency on the part of the local religious
organization of
Jehovah's Witnesses with the title "Southern, Abakan." The issue
was that
the ministers of the religion, to whom violations in the use of
their building
on Beloyarskaia Street, 64, in Abakan had been pointed out, did
not correct the
requirements of the prosecutor and persons sent from the
prosecutor's office to
verify were not allowed to enter the church. And they paid for
it—the court
acted and suspended the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in the
capital of
Khakassia for almost three months. One would like to know that
will be next.
It all began when the Abakan
prosecutor's office in
June of this year organized a verification of compliance with
the requirements
of federal legislation by the Southern, Abakan local religious
organization of
Jehovah's Witnesses for the use of the building on Beloyarskaia
St., 64,
Abakan.
Violations were discovered, but . . .
"However,
the religious organization did not comply with the demands of
the prosecutor,
and without adequarte reason inspectors were not permitted into
the building," the
prosecutor's office report says.
Of course the authorities, blocked by
this development,
simply could not retreat. And on 9 June the prosecutor of Abakan
issued an
order against Jehovah's Witnesses based on article 17.7 of the
Code of
Administrative Violations of Law of the RF—i.e., intentional
noncompliance with prosecutor's requirements based on his
authority established by federal law.
In the end, yesterday the Abakan city
court considered
this order and assessed a penalty in the form of the
administrative suspending
of the activity of the organization for a period of 80 days.
This decision is to take effect
immediately, the
prosecutor's office emphasized. (tr. by PDS, posted 16 July
2016)
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