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Russia bans non-violent Jehovah's Witnesses and ridiculously puts them in the same category as t
Yaroslav Sivulsky, member of the managerial center of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
The Supreme Court on April 7, 2017, Moscow.
© 2017 Dmitry Tischenko/www.jw-russia.org
MOSCOW — Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday announced their decision to ban the non-violent Christain denomination of Jehovah’s Witnesses operating on Russian territory and labeling their non-violent bible work in the same category as the terrorist group ISIS.
The Orthodox Church and their followers have lobbied for decades to have Jehovah’s Witnesses labeled as a dangerous heretical sect and to consequently have them banned.
During Russia’s Soviet days, the KGB frequently harassed Jehovah's Witnesses and labeled their work as extremist.
President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer, has stood behind the Orthodox Church and their push to persecute the religious minority group of Jehovah's Witnesses under the 2002 anti-extremist law that makes it illegal for any non-traditional religion to practice their worship freely.
The Human Rights Watch issued a statement in Moscow, calling the court ruling “a serious breach of Russia’s obligations to respect and protect religious freedom.”
Jehovah's Witnesses in Russian plan on appealing the ruling and taking the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if need be.
