SUPREME COURT DECLARES RECESS UNTIL THURSDAY IN REVIEW OF SUIT TO BAN JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES IN RUSSIA
Interfax-Religiia, 5 April 2017
The Russian Supreme Court will continue on 6 April consideration of the lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice to rule the Russian Jehovah's Witnesses to be an extremist organization and to ban its activity on the territory of the country.
As an Interfax correspondent reports, the court declared a recess in order to give time to representatives of the Jehovah's Witnesses to acquaint themselves with additional materials that the Ministry of Justice presented.
Earlier on Wednesday the Supreme Court of the RF rejected a petition from the Jehovah's Witnesses to suspend the proceedings on the justice ministry's lawsuit with regard to this organization. Lawyers for the Jehovists requested to suspend the proceedings on the lawsuit until the issuance of decisions by courts of general jurisdiction in a number of cases. In particular, at the present time courts are considering the recognition of 90 printed materials of the Jehovists as extremist, as well as eight cases for the prohibition of the activity of regional divisions.
As reported, the lawsuit against the religious organization was filed on 15 March, and at that time the work of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was suspended by order of the Ministry of Justice until consideration of the lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the RF because of their extremist activity.
Thus, according to materials on the ministry's
website, from
2009 to 2016, 95 materials of the Jehovah's Witnesses that were
imported and
distributed in Russia were ruled to be extremist and also eight
local religious
divisions of Jehovah's Witnesses that were members of the
structure of the
organization were banned and liquidated. (tr. by PDS, posted 5
April 2017)
RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT DENIES PETITION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TO SUSPEND PROCEEDINGS ON JUSTICE MINISTRY'S SUIT AGAINST THIS ORGANIZATION
Interfax-Religiia, 5 April 2017
The Supreme Court of the Russian federation refused to suspend proceedings in the lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice to find Russian Jehovah's Witnesses to be an extremist organization and to ban its activity on the territory of Russia.
"The petition is not subject to satisfaction. The existence of cases under consideration by courts of general jurisdiction does not preclude the possibility of consideration of the plaintiff's declaration by the Supreme Court," the judge announced the decision. [. . .]
Earlier on Wednesday, the court rejected the defendant's petition for stoppng the proceedings on the lawsuit and its petition to return the lawsuit.
The judge also refused to include representatives of 395 regional divisions of Jehovah's Witnesses in the capacity of co-defendants in the lawsuit. Lawyers for the organization reported in court that the rights of regional divisions are being violated everywhere.
"At the present time, even before the court's decision, police personnel are interrupting worship services, citing the order of the Ministry of Justice. The bank accounts of regional divisions are being blocked, as well as those of private individuals," the Jehovists' lawyer said.
On Wednesday the Supreme Court of the Russian federation is considering the question of recognition of the Russian Jehovah's Witnesses to be an extremist organization and of banning its activity on the territory of Russia, on the basis of an administrative lawsuit by the Ministry of Justice of the RF.
The lawsuit against the religious organization was filed on 15 March, and at that time the work of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia was suspended by order of the Ministry of Justice until consideration of the lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the RF because of their extremist activity. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2017)
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES EXPLAIN WHY AUTHORITIES DEMAND BANNING THEIR ORGANIZATION
The Ministry of Justice is demanding the prohibition of the work of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses because 95 books distributed by the organization and eight regional divisions have been ruled to be extremist, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the courtroom of the Supreme Court.
According to an attorney of the Administrative Center, all these decisions have already been ruled to be legal, although the Jehovah's Witnesses continue to challenge them by judicial procedure.
At the present session the Supreme Court is supposed to decide the question of the ban of the Administrative Center of the organization. As one of the experts questioned by RIA Novosti noted, a positive decision by the court may become a step toward the complete prohibition of the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is the parent organization that manages the affiliates of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. This religious organization regularly has problems with the law, from court rulings about a ban on activity and liquidation of divisions to fines for possession of extremist materials. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2017)
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/.