Russian Supreme Court Appeals Panel Affirms Ban on Jehovah's Witness Activity

Tass and BBC News reported yesterday that the appellate panel of the Russian Supreme Court has rejected an appeal of an April 2017 finding by a single judge of the Supreme Court that the Jehovah's Witness national headquarters in St. Petersburg and its 395 local affiliates should be classified as "extremist" organizations. (See prior posting.) The presiding judge yesterday held:

The ruling passed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on April 20 shall remain unchanged and the appeal shall not be entertained.

This affirms the ban on all Jehovah's Witness activity and the order that the organizations' property be seized by the state.  Jehovah's Witness respondents plan an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.