Russia’s supreme court has banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses from operating in the country, accepting a request from the justice ministry that the religious organization be considered an extremist group.The court ordered the closure of the group’s Russia headquarters and its 395 local chapters, as well as the seizure of its property.The Interfax news agency on Thursday quoted justice ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova in court as saying that the Jehovah’s Witnesses “pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security”.Borisova also said Jehovah’s Witnesses’ opposition to blood transfusions violates Russian healthcare laws. The Interfax news agency on Thursday quoted justice ministry attorney Svetlana Borisova in court as saying that the Jehovah’s Witnesses “pose a threat to the rights of the citizens, public order and public security”. “I’m shocked,” Yaroslav Sivulsky, another spokesperson for the organization told reporters “I didn’t expect that this could be possible in modern Russia, where the constitution guarantees freedom of religious practice.”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses organization has about 395 branches and about 175,000 members in Russia. In March, the activities of the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia – the largest Jehovah’s Witnesses group in the country, with some 175,000 adherents, were suspended by the authorities. Following the ruling, the representatives of the organization said that the group will appeal against the court’s decision, stressing that the organization is prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights. “The Justice Ministry, which had petitioned the Supreme Court to close the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization, should withdraw the case and refrain from taking further measures that violate its obligations to respect the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization’s right to freedom of religion and to association.” – says the statement of the Human Rights Watch.
The Supreme Court of Russia labels Jehovah's Witnesses as "extremists", effectively banning the religion.