Russian court bans all Jehovah's Witnesses activities after labeling group as 'extremists'

The Supreme Court in Russia has labeled Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist" group and has banned all of its activities in the country.

Following six days of hearings, the court ruled on Thursday that the religious denomination's headquarters in St. Petersburg as well as its 395 churches could be seized and liquidated, The Washington Post reported.

Under the ruling, members of the group are prohibited from distributing copies of the Watchtower tract, discussing their beliefs in public, and worshipping at a meeting hall.

Svetlana Borisova, a lawyer for the Justice Ministry, told the court that the Jehovah's Witnesses "pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security."

The religious group launched a global letter-writing campaign and a lawsuit claiming political repression after the government suspended its activities last month.

The Supreme Court decision has been described by Jehovah's Witnesses as "a black day for fundamental human freedoms in Russia."

Viktor Zhenkov, a lawyer for the religious denomination, expressed plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court's appellate division. He said that the group will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France if the appeal fails.

Although Jehovah's Witnesses has no record of any opposition toward Russian authorities, it has faced hostility from the administration of President Vladimir Putin, who has placed the Russian Orthodox Church at the center of his efforts to put the country forward as a great military and moral power.

Jehovah's Witnesses, which has some 175,000 adherents in Russia, became an officially registered religious group in the country in 1991, and it was re-registered again in 1999. It became a target for official harassment in 2002 under an anti-extremism law, which makes it illegal for any group, other than the Orthodox Church and other traditional religious institutions, to claim to offer a true path to religious or political salvation.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has denounced Russia's ongoing crackdown against the religious group known for its door-to-door evangelism.

"The treatment of the Jehovah's Witnesses reflects the Russian government's tendency to view all independent religious activity as a threat to its control and the country's political stability," it stated.

"This approach dates back to the Soviet period and impacts other religious groups, including peaceful Christians and Muslims," it continued.

Human Rights Watch described Thursday's ruling as a "terrible blow to freedom of religion and association in Russia."