STATE
DEPARTMENT
ACCUSES RUSSIA OF PERSECUTING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
The
American
Department of State accused Russia of persecution of Jehovah's
Witnesses and Hizb
ut-Tahrir. This is stated in an annual report on the observance
of freedom of
religious confession in the world in 2019. In Russia, the
Administrative Center
of Jehovah's Witnesses and the Hizb ut-Tahrir are considered to
be forbidden
organizations.
"Authorities
continued
to enforce the order of the Supreme Court of 2017, which bans
and
criminalizes the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist,
conducting raids
in residences, seizing personal property, detaining hundreds of
suspected
members, and sentencing individual persons to incarceration" the
report
says.
The
State Department
also maintains that Russian authorities "continued to fine,
arrest, and
hold in custody" representatives of other religious
organizations. Among
them, the Hizb ut-Tahrir is referenced.
Earlier, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance urged Russia to cease persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. It also considers it necessary to review anti-extremism legislation and the procedure of its implementation. (tr. by PDS, posted 11 June 2020)
Editorial disclaimer: RRN does
not intend to certify the accuracy of information
presented in articles. RRN simply intends to certify the
accuracy of the English translation of the contents of the
articles as they appeared in news media of countries of
the former USSR.
If material is quoted, please give credit to the
publication from which it came. It is not necessary to credit
this Web page. If material is transmitted electronically, please
include reference to the URL,
http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/.