VYBORG COURT ORDERS DESTRUCTION OF BIBLE IN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES' TRANSLATION
The Vyborg court recognized as extremist material and ordered to destroy the edition of the Bible in the Russian translation of Jehovah's Witnesses. This was reported by the portal Kasparov.ru.
At a session that finished late in the evening of Thursday, the court took the side of the prosecution. It was guided by the conclusion of an expert that the book is extremist if members of an organization that is forbidden in the country translated it.
More than 2,000 copies of the "Sacred Scripture in the New World Translation" were seized by customs in July 2015. At that time the Sova analytical center declared that despite differences with the Synodal translation, the book does not contain signs of extremism.
The Russian Ministry of Justice has included the Jehovah's Witnesses in the list of banned organizations subject to liquidation. This decision anticipates the closing of the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg and also of almost 400 regional offices.
The ban of the Jehovah's Witnesses by Russian authorities evoked criticism on the part of the U.S.A., European Union, and international rights advocacy organizations. (tr. by PDS, posted 21 August 2017)
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