RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


Saransk Jehovah's Witnesses lose in Supreme Court of Mordovia

RULING OF LENIN DISTRICT COURT OF SARANSK LEFT UNCHANGED

Press Service of the Supreme Court of republic of Mordovia, 15 February 2017

 

By a decision of the Supreme Court of the republic of Mordovia, the ruling of the Lenin district court of the city of Saransk of 6 December 2016 was left without change, by which the local religions organization of Saransk Jehovah's Witnesses was found guilty of committing an administrative violation of law under article 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Violations of Law of the RF—possession for purposes of mass distribution of extremist materials included in the published Federal List of Extremist Materials.

 

The administrative violation of law was committed under the following circumstances.

 

On 13 October 2016, during the conduct of operational search activities in the premises of the local religious organization of Saransk Jehovah's Witnesses, located on Titov Street of the city of Saransk, there was discovered and confiscated literature that was stored there—"How to develop close relations with God," and "Watch. In what respect? Why is it now that this especially important?"—which by decision of the Salsk city court of Rostov province of 27 June 2011, by the appellate determination of the Rostov provincial court of 13 October 2011, and also by the appellate determination of the legal college for civil affairs of the Kurgansk provincial court of 5 August 2014, was ruled to be prohibited for use and was entered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian federation into the Federal List of Extremist Materials.

 

On the basis of this incident, a protocol of administrative violation of law with respect to the religious organization was drawn up.

 

By order of the Lenin district court of the city of Saransk, the religious organization of the Saransk Jehovah's Witnesses is held administratively accountable, with the assessment of an administrative fine of 150,000 rubles. (tr. by PDS, posted 19 February 2017)


Background articles:
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mordovia threatened with abolition
December 8, 2016
Framed Jehovah's Witnesses of Saransk punished
June 30, 2016


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