05 April 2017, 01:32
Jehovah's Witnesses demand to recognize MoJ’s decision as political repression
The Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses has filed a counterclaim to the Russian Supreme Court (SC) against the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Russia demanding that the religious organization be recognized as a victim of political repressions, when it is accused of extremism. All 395 local organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the communities of the Southern Federal and the North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD), have applied to the court as co-defendants in the lawsuit.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the activities of the religious organization "Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses" in Russia were suspended since March 15.
The “Novaya Gazeta” writes that in their counterclaim Jehovah's Witnesses appeal to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR), the Law on the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression, and the Russian President's Decree of 14 March 14, 1996, “On Measures to Rehabilitate Clergymen and Believers Who Fell Victim to Unfair Repressions".
The accounts of the “Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses” have been blocked by banks, said Ivan Belenko, the press secretary of the Centre.
As stated by rights defenders, persecutions of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have reached an unprecedented scale.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Source: CK correspondents
