[{"body":"A group of security officials came to the house of Sergey Fedorov, who at that time lived in Togliatti, to inspect the premises. The event is led by the senior operative of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Karelia, Major A. S. Romanov.\nThe inspection is carried out with gross violations: in fact, the law enforcement officers search the premises, Sergey is handcuffed and hit on the head. Objects that do not belong to him are planted on the believer, including publications entered into the FSEM.\nThen Sergey Fedorov is taken 2,000 km away to Petrozavodsk to \"give explanations as part of a pre-investigation check on the material.\"\n","caseTitle":"The Case of Fedorov in Petrozavodsk","date":"2024-03-07T00:00:00Z","permalink":"/en/cases/petrozavodsk3/index.html#20240307","regions":["karelia"],"tags":["inspection","siloviks-violence","plant","fsem"],"type":"timeline"},{"body":"On March 31, 2021, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg declared as “extremist” and banned the distribution in Russia of the religious mobile application JW Library, a library which contains biblical texts, audio and video materials. The court made this decision without even examining the application.\nIn October 2020, the St. Petersburg prosecutor's office demanded that the application be banned, citing the fact that earlier Russian courts had unjustifiably added some publications of Jehovah's Witnesses to the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Prior to this, the overwhelming majority of state expert institutions, including the Federal Center for Forensic Expertise under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, consistently and unequivocally concluded that there were no signs of extremism in such publications. The literature of Jehovah's Witnesses is freely and legally distributed in approximately 240 countries and territories.\nAs follows from the reports of human rights defenders and international structures, the ban on literature in Russia became possible largely due to the half-baked anti-extremist legislation, as well as the bias of individual experts and judges, which became the basis for an arbitrary interpretation of the concept of extremism. Back in 2015, the UN Human Rights Committee recommended that the Russian state “revise the Federal Law 'On Countering Extremist Activities' in order to ... establish clear and specific criteria by which certain materials can be classified as extremist. All necessary measures should be taken to prevent the arbitrary application of this law and the Federal List of Extremist Materials should be revised.\"\nAn amendment was made to the law on extremism, according to which “the Bible, Koran, Tanakh and Gandzhur, their content and quotations from them cannot be recognized as extremist materials” (Article 3.1). In spite of this, the court banned the Bible published by Jehovah's Witnesses - “Holy Scripture. New World Translation ”. The liquidation of legal organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, the subsequent beatings, arrests and sentences are the result of the ban on literature.\nAccording to a lawyer familiar with the circumstances of the case, the decision to ban JW Library was made with gross violations of the law: “The application was not even examined in court. This in itself is nonsense when deciding whether to recognize information material as extremist. In addition, the court, without any substantiation, rejected numerous requests to obtain evidence and send requests to state bodies. \"\nThe decision is subject to immediate execution, but an appeal will be made.\nThe JW Library app was developed by Jehovah's Witnesses in 2013. The program includes content in 98 languages and supports Android and iOS. Only the Android version of the application was downloaded by over 10 million users, who collectively rated it 4.8 points out of 5.\nJW Library allows to download and read the Bible in various translations, including those published by non-Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, the Synodal Translation, which are widespread in Russia, the translations of Archimandrite Macarius, Archpriest Pavsky, and others. Various Bible commentaries and reference books, Bible study aids, videos, films and cartoons for children, Christian songs and music are also available.\n“Not all publications that are available for download are strictly religious,” says Yaroslav Sivulskiy of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses. “They cover topics such as nature, science, history, morality, health, family life, etc. Here are just a few examples. articles: \"Alcohol: Soberly Assess the Consequences\", \"Don't Smoke Your Life\", \"May Your Family Be Happy\", \"Teenage Depression. Reasons and solutions”, “How to find a way to reconciliation”. Banning the JW Library application for the fact that someone can download something prohibited in Russia is like closing the library, assuming that there is a banned book in its archives.\"\nUpdate. On September 27, 2021, a panel of judges at the St. Petersburg City Court, chaired by Natalia Karsakova, upheld a lower court's decision to ban the JW Library app in the Russian Federation.\nThe lawsuit was filed by Sergey Zhukovsky, deputy prosecutor of St. Petersburg. Among the interested parties are the Ministry of Justice and Roskomnadzor. Russian representative offices of Apple and Google were also involved in the process.\nJW Library is one of the top 100 apps in the \"Books \u0026 Guides\" category for iOS and Android by the number of downloads. Every day it is opened by 8 million people in more than 200 countries. According to international certification agencies, this program is suitable for users of all ages, as it contains no inappropriate materials.\n","category":"literature","date":"2021-04-01T20:50:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2021/04/1/image_hu_cb02726a53d3e099.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2021/04/1/image_hu_a5c455c38451cf14.jpg","webp":"/news/2021/04/1/image_hu_8ff140cd112c7f3b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2021/04/1/image_hu_6e61019f6ccebd4f.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2021/04/1.html","regions":["stpetersburg"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","translations","app-ban","fsem"],"title":"A St. Petersburg court banned a popular JW Library mobile application","type":"news"},{"body":"During searches in the homes of residents of Nevinnomyssk on August 10, 2020, law enforcers planted books on the believer that are included in the Federal List of Extremist Literature (FSEM). Another believer's laptop and phone were seized.\nThe searches were carried out by officers of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Stavropol Territory on the basis of a ruling by the judge of the Stavropol Regional Court, Nikolai Kramchinin, who authorized the \"Inspection\" to verify information about the involvement of believers in the activities of an extremist organization (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The forbidden literature was planted when one of the witnesses became ill and was taken out into the street.\nWhy are banned literature planted on Jehovah\u0026rsquo;s Witnesses? On the same day law enforcement officers came to another local believer. He told the law enforcers that there was nothing forbidden in his house, so he would consider everything that would be \"found\" as a plant. His laptop and phone were seized from him. No religious literature from the FSEM was found in his home by law enforcement officials.\nAccording to preliminary information, operational and investigative measures are not connected with the criminal prosecution of Kuznetsov and others in Nevinnomyssk. The suspects in the Kuznetsov case are eight local believers. One of them, Rimma Vashchenko, a 90-year-old physics teacher, is the oldest Jehovah's Witness prosecuted for her faith in Russia. Rosfinmonitoring has listed her and other individuals with regard to whom there is evidence of involvement in extremist activities or terrorism. There are restrictions on access to their bank accounts.\nThe planting of banned religious publications was one of the foundations of criminal proceedings against believers, which led to the banning of Jehovah's Witnesses legal entities in Russia. In September 2016, CCTV cameras recorded the falsification of evidence in a church building in the village of Nezlobnaya, located in the same Stavropol Territory.\nLater, special services planted evidence in peaceful believers both in Stavropol, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk regions, Kaluga and other regions of Russia.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2020-08-13T16:18:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/08/5/image_hu_87c5d9fbde9b8ed0.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/08/5/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/08/5/image_hu_de1a879ad76fa4f4.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/08/5/image_hu_7713b4ab65b461a7.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/08/5.html","regions":["stavropol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["search","plant","fsem","282.2-2","elderly"],"title":"In Stavropol Territory, Law Enforcers Planted Banned Literature on the Believer. Details of Searches in Nevinnomyssk","type":"news"},{"body":"On May 20, 2020, security forces searched five houses in the town of Mayskoye. Six believers — a married couple and four other women — were taken to the investigation department for interrogation, and later released after questioning about their religious views \"not for the record.\"\nDuring the searches, literature included in the list of extremist materials was planted on all believers.\n\"One of the employees entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. After that, he came out and forbade us to go there. Then a planted publication from the list of extremist materials was found there,\" said one of the believers, whose home was searched.\nIn another case, the security forces came to the home of a local resident when she was at work. The door was opened by her son-in-law. Law enforcement officers twisted his arms and took him to one of the rooms, while they continued the search in other rooms. Later, law enforcement officers brought the owner of the house and after that \"found\" 7 copies of prohibited literature.\nDuring the interrogations, the security forces asked the believers what kind of God they believed in, how long ago and who taught them this.\nElectronic devices and personal records were seized from local residents. Law enforcement officers did not provide them with copies of search protocols and other documents.\nOn May 14, the searches were sanctioned by the judge of the Maysky District Court, Andriy Skrypnyk. According to eyewitnesses, the special events were led by one of the local security officials, who had previously falsified evidence with the help of planting.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2020-05-22T11:15:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2020/05/12/image_hu_cbbea508320a5344.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2020/05/12/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2020/05/12/image_hu_81d57942b41e280b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2020/05/12/image_hu_363cf9b71c0a34ae.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/05/12.html","regions":["kabardino-balkar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["search","plant","interrogation","fsem","siloviks-violence"],"title":"The houses of six believers were searched in Kabardino-Balkaria. The law enforcers planted banned literature on them","type":"news"},{"body":"On the morning of February 12, 2020, in Stavropol, law enforcement officers disguised as neighbors came to search the family of 24-year-old Denis and Anna Mashkov. The special events lasted about 6 hours and were accompanied by insults. The head of the family was questioned whether he was an \"organizer\" of Jehovah's Witnesses.\nAt 7 o'clock in the morning, when Anna's husband was at work, she heard a strong knock on the door, accompanied by shouts: \"We are your neighbors from below, you are flooding us!\" An hour later, reluctantly presenting a police ID and a court order to inspect the home, a group of 7 people, including two witnesses, entered the apartment of Anna and Denis. Among the participants in the search activities was an operative of the Center for Countering Extremism (CPE) of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Stavropol Territory, M. Chmyrev, who had previously initiated the initiation of criminal cases against believers in Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory).\nDuring the search, the security forces planted several publications previously included in the federal list of extremist materials, and also seized laptops, phones, electronic storage devices and personal records, including phone passwords.\nLaw enforcement officers asked Denis questions about his connections with Jehovah's Witnesses, whether he was the organizer and whether he knew other believers.\nAfter the search, the security forces threatened the Mashkovs that \"now they will see each other more often.\"\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2020-02-14T18:09:05+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/common/searches%20saransk_hu_4aa589b81b87365e.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/common/searches%20saransk.jpg","webp":"/news/common/searches%20saransk_hu_dc16356e31723ca3.webp","webp2x":"/news/common/searches%20saransk_hu_d442190f69a95cf6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2020/02/49.html","regions":["stavropol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["search","interrogation","plant","fsem"],"title":"In Stavropol, Security Forces Planted Forbidden Literature on Believers During a Search. A Family Faces Criminal Prosecution","type":"news"},{"body":"On September 4, 2019, in the trial of six Jehovah's Witnesses in Saratov , the floor was given to the well-known religious scholar, Doctor of Philosophy, State Counselor of the Russian Federation Sergey Igorevich Ivanenko. Here are excerpts from his testimony.\nOn the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses can be called a denomination, it is an independent movement in Christianity. It is not the most numerous - according to the latest data, there are about 8 and a half million Jehovah's Witnesses in the world. One of the main features of Jehovah's Witnesses is that the so-called last days have now come, that is, Jesus Christ has already reigned in heaven as a rightful ruler, and Jehovah's Witnesses must obey him as their religious leader and mentor. Therefore, they must preach, very zealously fulfill the precepts that support the Holy Scripture of Christians - the Bible, and be guided by them in their daily lives.\n\"If Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the head of their congregation is Jesus Christ, he is the Son of God, if they recognize the Bible and study the Bible, call themselves Christians, from a religious point of view, they are also a trend within Christianity.\"\nOn the religious life and practice of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses have a very significant feature: they do not rely on some harsh disciplines, the authority of some leaders, but try to form a conscience trained in the Bible among their followers, so that a person can independently, voluntarily make decisions following the Bible.\"\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses try to follow what is in the Bible, which should correspond to the principles that were laid down by Jesus Christ and his disciples in the first century AD.\"\n\"If we talk about joint confession of faith, which is expressed in Bible study, answering questions on biblical topics, singing songs that are also based on biblical texts, then Jehovah's Witnesses have an emphasized desire to rely on the Bible in everything. That is, if we are talking about a religious chant, at the very beginning there is necessarily a reference to which biblical text this term is based, the lyrics of the song, what it should express from the point of view of the religious needs and beliefs of the believer.\n\"They also have the conviction that Christians must necessarily carry out their religious life on the basis of meetings. And here, too, Jehovah's Witnesses analyze the New Testament, what is said about Jesus Christ, his disciples, his followers, about the first stages of the development of the Christian church... Jehovah's Witnesses are convinced that they should also practice their religious life in religious meetings.\"\n\"They emphasize that disciples of Jesus Christ can be recognized by the fact that there will be love between them.\"\nOn the alleged ban on the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. \"I am not aware of any court decisions or legislative acts that would say that the internal structure of Jehovah's Witnesses contradicts the legislation of the Russian Federation, and would contain any prohibitions related to the doctrine or cult practice of Jehovah's Witnesses.\"\n\"It was not about banning worship services, some kind of cult actions, but it was about what from the point of view of the Supreme Court was considered as extremist activity.\"\nAccusations of extremism against Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Initially, some publications of Jehovah's Witnesses were recognized as extremist, in which, according to experts, it was claimed that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses was the only true one, and the rest of the religions were false. This statement is present in other denominations, but in this case the claims were made against Jehovah's Witnesses. The assertion that only their religion was true and that all others were false was interpreted as propaganda of religious superiority.\n\"[The court's decision] seems to me as a religious scholar to be vulnerable from the point of view that, if desired, in any religious denomination you can find the statement that only our religion is correct, and the rest are false or largely mistaken.\"\n\"If we talk about the fact that believers consider their religion to be absolute truth, and other religions are either completely false or essentially false, this is certainly present in any believer. And it must be present, because otherwise you will be credited with a hypocrite.\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses are pacifists, they are quite consistently pursuing a line so as not to destroy social foundations. Rather, they advocate the primacy of biblical principles. God's laws are a priority for them. But to the extent that God's laws do not contradict earthly laws, Jehovah's Witnesses are very consistent and purposeful in trying to keep earthly laws. It is no coincidence that there are quite a few reports that it is Jehovah's Witnesses who return some lost wallets, pay fines and taxes, although they can evade them. This is their conscious choice, and in this sense I would not blame them for any extremist encroachments.\"\nOn the need for legal entities to profess their faith. \"The decisions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation show that ... most of the congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses did not have a legal entity and were not registered. Therefore, it is wrong to say that any Jehovah's Witness in some territory is necessarily a member of a legal entity.\"\n\"The main content of the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses is carried out by those canonical structures that are created in accordance with biblical principles.\"\n\"As for legal entities ... I carefully studied their statutes, there are no overseers, no elders, no pioneers, none of these terms are present there. There we are usually talking about the founders - this is a limited circle of people, about 10 people. As for purely canonical activities, they reflect not the legal, but the canonical side of the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses. It is the same in different countries and in different regions.\"\n\"Jehovah's Witnesses have taken note [of the Supreme Court's decision], that is, in their activities they strive not to explicitly violate this decision of the Supreme Court. But at the same time, they will continue their activities as a religious denomination that is not prohibited by the authorities. They continued their activities as private individuals professing their religion. That is, from their point of view, from a religious point of view, this activity does not violate the decision of the Supreme Court.\"\nOn the preaching activity of Jehovah's Witnesses. \"Jehovah's Witnesses are distinguished by the fact that they are very active in preaching. I would put Jehovah's Witnesses in the first place in terms of their preaching activity, zeal, so that every believer must be a preacher and devote some time to preaching.\"\n\"They usually say this: the Bible says this, a person can take the Bible himself and check it. If a person agrees, he goes along with them. If he disputes it, he doesn't go with them. There is no compulsion. But their explanation is consistent and logical in its own way. This is the attraction for some people of their preaching. Their preaching does not work, in my opinion, for everyone. If a person is more mystical, wants some revelations from God or some supernatural spiritual powers, he will not go to Jehovah's Witnesses ... And more rational people who want to reach everything with their minds, live in accordance with this consistently, they will come to Jehovah's Witnesses.\"\nOn the attitude of Jehovah's Witnesses to the Bible. The peculiarity of Jehovah's Witnesses is that they use any translation of the Bible both for preaching and for studying. They have a keen interest in distributing the Bible in different languages. In this sense, they are bibliocentric. Their own translation was indeed recognized as extremist in our country ... Perhaps those who accepted it thought that Jehovah's Witnesses were attached exclusively to this translation and if it was excluded from the game, Jehovah's Witnesses would give up. This is a wrong judgment. For Jehovah's Witnesses, each translation of the Bible has its own value.\"\nOn the attitude of Jehovah's Witnesses to blood transfusions. \"The Bible says that 'the soul is in the blood' and therefore blood should not be consumed. We are talking about a food ban, but they interpret it broadly. They believe that blood should not be consumed in any form: neither in food (they will not eat blood sausage), nor [in the form of] blood transfusions. But they agree to the use of small fractions of blood - this is the voluntary choice of the believer ... They are not for dying by refusing a blood transfusion, but for good treatment so that a person receives first-class medical care. The blood transfusion itself, from their point of view and from the point of view of many medical aspects, is dangerous, because you can get AIDS and something else. Bloodless surgery provides more guarantees, and often in reality – I looked at the statistics – wealthy people often prefer to do without blood transfusions, because it guarantees greater safety in terms of freedom from infections and complications.\nAbout the collection of donations by Jehovah's Witnesses. \"A person may not make any donations. He can, roughly speaking, go to meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses all his life and not donate a ruble or a dollar. But he can also sacrifice - that's his choice.\nDespite strong expert arguments that Jehovah's Witnesses are ordinary Christians and not criminals, all six defendants in the Saratov case were found guilty for their faith and sentenced to various prison terms. Persecution of hundreds of their fellow believers across the country continues.\nSergey Ivanenko is the author of two scientific papers on Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. They can be found in the section \"Religious Studies\".\n","category":"rights","date":"2019-09-24T16:05:29+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_ccd7bda83d3d10ca.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_d578c036ca8a6a83.webp","webp2x":"/news/2019/09/1155/ivanenko-01_hu_1d4f29c069e489ac.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2019/09/1155.html","regions":["saratov"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","translations","expert-comments","review","liquidation","fsem","analytics"],"title":"The well-known religious scholar Sergey Ivanenko spoke in the trial of Jehovah's Witnesses. What did he say?","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 6, 2019, Dennis Christensen, a resident of Orlov, was sentenced to 6 years in prison on the grounds that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation liquidated the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses \"Orel\", like hundreds of other organizations of this religion, considering that it was engaged in extremist activities. Jehovah's Witnesses consider 1) Christensen's conviction, (2) the Supreme Court's decision to liquidate religious organizations, and (3) the entire decision to recognize Jehovah's Witnesses' Christian books as \"extremist materials\" to be unfounded and unjust. Why?\nWhy is Christensen's conviction unjust? Because it contradicts the Russian government's own legal position presented to the ECHR: \"The authorities of the Russian Federation emphasize that the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of April 20, 2017 and the appellate ruling of the Appellate Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of July 17, 2017 do not assess the doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses, do not contain a restriction or prohibition to practice the above teaching individually.\" The Russian government's explanation at the UN Human Rights Committee reads as follows: \"The decision [of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation] does not restrict the right of citizens to freedom of religion. Members of the liquidated organization have the opportunity to practice their beliefs independently, provided that they do not distribute literature with extremist content or otherwise participate in illegal activities.\" The court's mistake lies in the fact that the court interpreted the ordinary, lawful activities of Dennis Christensen as \"organizing the activities of an extremist organization.\"\nWhy are the decisions of the Supreme Court on the liquidation of religious organizations unjust? Because they are based on falsified \"evidence\" that the Supreme Court took on faith. In 2015-2016, there was an epidemic of similar planting of prohibited materials in the worship buildings of Jehovah's Witnesses and subsequent discoveries in the regions of Russia, which was often recorded on surveillance cameras. Lower-level courts dismissed protests from believers and imposed fines on communities, but later the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation gave those decisions prejudicial force and formally liquidated all organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses. This led to the seizure of hundreds of worship buildings worth over 6 billion rubles from believers, as well as to criminal cases and imprisonment of dozens of people.\nWhy are court decisions to recognize the Christian books of Jehovah's Witnesses as \"extremist materials\" unjust? Since 2009, books have been included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials (FSEM) for the most innocuous statements, for example: \"People worship many things. But the Bible says that there is only one true God. Not all beliefs and customs are bad. But God does not approve of those that come from false religion and contradict biblical teachings.\" The reason for the ridiculous decisions is the vague definitions of \"extremism\" in the law and the obvious incompetence or bias of the judges, who considered \"extremism\" the belief of Jehovah's Witnesses in the truth of their religious choice.\n\"The inclusion of books of Jehovah's Witnesses in the FSEM is the only reason for accusations of extremism brought against our fellow believers in Russia,\" says Yaroslav Sivulsky of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses. - The Supreme Court of Russia was able to distinguish the wheat from the chaff in a timely manner, but did not do so. This has caused irreparable suffering to thousands of people whose entire fault is their faith. They hope that the Russian authorities will find the courage to correct mistakes and restore the rights of innocent people.\n","category":"analytics","date":"2019-02-13T15:07:28+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2019/02/611/17069_0_hu_e8104f391b2e2036.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2019/02/611/17069_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2019/02/611/17069_0_hu_7379a4c66a88617b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2019/02/611/17069_0_hu_895c022321695ad7.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2019/02/611.html","regions":["oryol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["supreme-court","echr","review","fsem","liberty-deprivation"],"title":"Jehovah's Witnesses consider court decisions against them to be unlawed","type":"news"},{"body":"On August 27, the Maysky District Court of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic continued hearings in the criminal case against Yuriy Zalipayev, who faces up to 5 years in prison for his faith.\nFive witnesses were questioned at the trial: three members of the operational-investigative team who in August 2016 participated in the seizure of literature at the place of worship in Maysky, an assistant prosecutor and one local resident.\nSenior Assistant Prosecutor Denis Shapovalov testified that he was not aware of any cases of distribution of extremist literature by Jehovah's Witnesses in Mayskoye. This is what the investigation accuses Yuriy Zalipaev. According to Denis Alekseevich, believers are well aware of what literature is included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials and do not use it. He also confirmed the arguments of the defense that almost all witnesses in the case received calls from the phone, the number of which belongs to the FSB officer Svetikov Sergey Alexandrovich.\nTwo members of the investigative team said that although they seized \"extremist\" literature, it was discovered before their arrival and they did not know by whom.\nFinally, an interrogated local resident, an education worker, told the court that in August 2016, an unknown woman gave him the magazine \"Awaken!\", which he immediately threw away. It remains unclear how investigators found the man, who received the literature a full year before the first interrogation in the case.\nAccording to the prosecution, Yuriy Zalipayev distributed banned literature and also called on other Jehovah's Witnesses to beat Orthodox Christians and Muslims. The believer rejects these accusations. He faces up to 5 years in prison under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement to hatred or enmity) and under Part 1 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public calls for extremist activities).\nThe next meeting is scheduled for September 7, 14:00. The dates of subsequent meetings are tentatively known: 17, 21, 24 and 28 September; October 19.\n","category":"trial","date":"2018-08-31T16:57:41+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2018/08/469/web_image_001_hu_aa5f22494f1cdfc.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2018/08/469/web_image_001.jpg","webp":"/news/2018/08/469/web_image_001_hu_a7fbb238204d7b6c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2018/08/469/web_image_001_hu_ba9ed42269298618.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2018/08/469.html","regions":["kabardino-balkar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["first-instance","interrogation","fsem","282.2-1","280-1","fabrications"],"title":"A criminal trial for faith against a local resident continued in Mayskoye","type":"news"},{"body":"The only basis for all accusations of \"extremism\" against Jehovah's Witnesses — the Federal List of Extremist Materials — can be revoked. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on Russia to do so in its Recommendation of August 25, 2017.\nThe UN Committee is concerned about the unclear definition of extremist activity and the lack of clear criteria by which materials can be classified as extremist, which is used against vulnerable segments of the population.\nThe international community unanimously condemned the accusations of extremism and the ban imposed by a Russian court on Jehovah's Witnesses organizations. This is evident from the following official statements.\nJoint statement by the 28 member states of the European Union, as well as 11 other states, including Australia, Canada and NorwayJuly 21, 2017 (source) \"On July 17, the Russian Supreme Court upheld a decision to liquidate all legal entities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, cease their activities and confiscate property on charges of \"extremist activity.\" The decision confirms the ban on the peaceful worship of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the country. This ban has already led to cases of criminal prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as police raids on their prayer halls. It has contributed to an atmosphere of hatred and bullying, which has led to arson attacks and other forms of harassment. Jehovah's Witnesses, like all followers of religious groups, must be able to peacefully enjoy freedom of assembly without interference, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as by Russia's international obligations and international human rights standards.\"\nFederal Republic of Germany. German Foreign OfficeJuly 19, 2017 (source) \"We are concerned by the approval of the court decision to ban the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. Thus, despite our attempts at persuasion at all levels, the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of religion and thought has become punishable.\"\nUnited States of America. U.S. Department of StateJuly 19, 2017 (source) \"The Russian Supreme Court's decision against Jehovah's Witnesses this week is the latest in a disturbing trend of persecution of religious minorities. We call on the Russian authorities to lift the ban on Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, lift the closure of the Jehovah's Witnesses Administrative Center, and release all members of religious minorities who continue to be unjustly detained for so-called 'extremist' activities.\"\nUnited Kingdom. Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeJuly 18, 2017 (source) \"We are deeply concerned that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation rejected the appeal of Jehovah's Witnesses against the decision that labeled them \"extremists\". This ruling criminalizes the religious activities of more than 175,000 Russian citizens and contravenes the right to religious freedom that is protected by the Russian Constitution.\"\nEuropean Union. European External Action ServiceJuly 18, 2017 (source) \"Jehovah's Witnesses, like all other religious groups, must be able to peacefully enjoy freedom of assembly without interference, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as by Russia's international commitments and international human rights standards.\"\nUnited States of America. U.S. Commission on International Religious FreedomJuly 17, 2017 (source) \"Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision demonstrates the government's continued attempts to equate those who peacefully exercise the right to religious freedom with extremists. Jehovah's Witnesses are not an extremist group and should be able to practice their religion openly, freely and without pressure from the authorities.\"\nFederal Republic of Germany. German Chancellor Angela MerkelMay 2, 2017 (source) \"I... asked Mr. President to exert his influence to ensure the preservation of the rights of minorities. This also applies to Jehovah's Witnesses.\"\nOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human RightsApril 25, 2017 (source) \"I am concerned about the unjustified criminalization of the peaceful activities of members of the Jehovah's Witnesses communities in Russia, the liquidation of this community in the country. This Supreme Court decision poses a threat to the values and principles on which democratic, free, open, pluralistic and tolerant societies are founded.\"\nOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for Combating Racism, Xenophobia and DiscriminationApril 25, 2017 (source) \"This ban, the persecution of peaceful people for mere worship, clearly violates the fundamental right to freedom of religion, and with it international human rights standards guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, so it needs to be reviewed as soon as possible.\"\nParliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeApril 21, 2017 (source) \"The recent decision of the Supreme Court to declare the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Russian Federation an extremist organization, to close it and 395 local religious organizations of the Witnesses, raises serious concerns about religious freedom in Russia, and also serves as another example of how anti-extremist legislation is used to suppress freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.\"\nUnited States of America. Commission on Security and Cooperation in EuropeApril 21, 2017 (source) \"Russia's failure to respect religious freedom is yet another inexcusable violation of Moscow's OSCE commitments. People who practice their faith peacefully should never be harassed, fined, or imprisoned. The court order to confiscate the property of Jehovah's Witnesses adds humiliation to the persecution. It is hoped that this case will be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.\"\nEuropean Union. European External Action ServiceApril 21, 2017 (source) \"Yesterday's decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to ban the activities of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia on grounds of \"extremism\" paves the way for criminal prosecution of members of the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses for the mere practice of their religion. Jehovah's Witnesses, like all other religious groups, must be able to peacefully enjoy freedom of assembly without interference, as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as by Russia's international commitments and international human rights standards.\"\nUnited Kingdom. Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeApril 21, 2017 (source) \"The decision of the Supreme Court of Russia to recognize the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist is alarming. This ruling effectively criminalizes the peaceful worship of 175,000 Russian citizens and contravenes the right to religious freedom enshrined in the Russian Constitution. The UK calls on the Russian government to uphold its commitment to this basic human right.\"\n","category":"rights","date":"2017-09-04T17:10:43+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/09/212/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_0_hu_5b07e79946eef0fc.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/09/212/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/09/212/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_0_hu_ba1022958e431c8c.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/09/212/k.jakubowska_shutterstock.com_1_0_hu_4ba8c7a949044f56.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/09/212.html","regions":["eu"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["eu","international","osce","pace","state-department","fsem"],"title":"The UN called on Russia to abolish the List of Extremist Materials","type":"news"},{"body":"In August 2017, it became known that in the village of Maysky (Kabardino-Balkaria), the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against a 54-year-old local resident, Yuriy Zalipaev, under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (\"incitement to hatred or enmity\"). The believer faces up to 5 years in prison.\nFrom the decision to initiate a criminal case, signed by senior investigator A. Kodzokov, it follows that in 2016 Yuriy Zalipaev allegedly distributed 3 copies of the magazine \"Awake!\" for August 2009 with the title \"Discrimination and prejudice: the root and solution of the problem\".\nIn fact, in 2016, believers unsuccessfully tried to prove to the Maysky District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria that these copies of the magazine \"Awake!\" were planted by them in a worship building. During the service, the lights went out in the building and more than 20 law enforcement officers, led by an FSB officer, invaded it without explanation. Under the threat of force, some of the believers were blocked in the premises, and electronic devices were confiscated from them. Law enforcement officers in the dark began inspecting the premises. When the lights were turned on, the police pointed out to the believers the publications included in the FSEM, which were lying on a bench next to an employee in camouflage uniform. Despite the fact that video recordings were carefully seized from the believers, they managed to keep videos proving that there were no publications on the bench before the start of the search. However, in November 2016, the court of the village of Maisky was critical of these videos and imposed a fine of 200,000 rubles on the community. Less than a year later, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against one of the believers, Yuri Zalipaev.\nYuri Viktorovich Zalipaev is a respected head of the family, husband and father, who has been known as a decent believer for 25 years.\nIn 2010, the magazine \"Awake!\", which Yuriy Zalipayev is unreasonably accused of distributing, was included in the FSEM under number 757 on the basis of the decision of the Kemerovo District Court, which considered the article \"The Point of View of the Bible: Should Believers Be Divided into Clergy and Laity?\" as extremism.\nThis is the second similar case in the republic: the Prokhladnensky District Court of Kabardino-Balkaria is hearing a case against 69-year-old Jehovah's Witness Arkadi Hakobyan. According to the prosecution, Arkady Akopovich Hakobyan made a speech in which the dignity of persons of other religions was allegedly humiliated, and instructed those present to distribute prohibited literature. He was charged under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Earlier, Arkadya Hakobyan appealed to the Investigative Committee of Russia with a request to bring to justice those who gave knowingly false testimony on which the charges were based.\n","category":"trial","date":"2017-08-23T22:01:39+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/08/207/gavel3845_1_0_hu_bf906f76fa2a38a7.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/08/207/gavel3845_1_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/08/207/gavel3845_1_0_hu_755724c945518180.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/08/207/gavel3845_1_0_hu_c57b019ca489577.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/08/207.html","regions":["kabardino-balkar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["new-case","282.2-1","plant","fsem"],"title":"New Criminal Case for Faith in Kabardino-Balkaria ","type":"news"},{"body":"In compliance with the current legislation on countering extremist activity, the Centralized Religious Organization \"Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia\" makes a public statement that it has nothing to do with the signs of extremism and events set forth in the judicial acts on bringing to administrative responsibility, as well as on the recognition of local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses that are part of its structure as extremist.\nThe religious organization \"Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia\" did not instruct local religious organizations within its structure, as well as individual believers, to distribute, store or otherwise use literature after it was included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.\nThe program of worship services of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia does not include the study of information materials prohibited by law.\nThe religious organization \"Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia\" does not agree with the actions of persons who bring publications included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials to the liturgical buildings of Jehovah's Witnesses. For each fact of planting banned literature, believers file a complaint with law enforcement agencies with a request to bring the perpetrators to justice.\n","category":"org","date":"2017-02-24T16:00:55+03:00","duration":null,"image":false,"permalink":"/en/news/2017/02/100.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["administrative-center","mro","fsem"],"title":"Public Statement of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia","type":"news"},{"body":"On February 15, 2017, the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia had to hand over more than 73,000 pages of internal documentation (pictured) to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. In the notice of an unscheduled inspection, the Ministry of Justice of Russia does not hide the fact that it acts at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. What does such a check mean?\nOn March 2, 2017, one year expires from the date of issuing a warning to the \"Administrative Center\" about the inadmissibility of extremist activities. In it, the Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia threatens to close a centralized religious organization if \"new facts\" of extremist activity are revealed within 12 months. The believers unsuccessfully tried to challenge the prosecutor's warning in the courts of various instances, proving the illegality and far-fetchedness of the accusations of Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism.\nDuring these 12 months, cases of falsification of evidence against Jehovah's Witnesses became significantly more frequent, primarily by planting printed \"extremist materials\" in worship buildings. In 2016 alone, there were at least 46 such throws, some recorded on surveillance cameras. Believers sent relevant statements to law enforcement agencies, however, instead of investigating them and identifying the perpetrators, the prosecutor's offices issued warnings to the believers themselves.\nTo outlaw Jehovah's Witnesses, the prosecutor's office uses a simplified scheme. A single planted pamphlet often amounts to a warning from a local religious organization (LRO). After that, within a year after the warning, due to new plantings, \"new facts\" of the extremist activities of this LRO are formed. On this completely fabricated basis, the LRO is liquidated. And the fact of the liquidation of the LRO is used to accuse the centralized organization of extremism. The warning to the Administrative Center was issued on this basis. And the Prosecutor General's Office, in its demand to the Ministry of Justice to conduct an unscheduled inspection, claims that \"new facts\" of extremist activities of the Administrative Center have already been established, since after a warning under the above scheme, several more LROS were liquidated.\nDoes the prosecutor's office intend to use this scheme against the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and liquidate it on trumped-up charges of extremism? This is not known, but all the necessary steps have already been taken by the Prosecutor General's Office.\n\"Now the Ministry of Justice, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office, is thoroughly studying the property and activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia,\" says Yaroslav Sivulsky of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia. We don't know. However, given that the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses is professed by hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens, such a step would be a real disaster for rights and freedoms in our country. Without any exaggeration, this would throw us back to the dark times of oppression for the faith, which are still fresh in the memory of the older generation. I hope that doesn't happen.\"\n","category":"overview","date":"2017-02-23T16:04:47+03:00","duration":"3:49","image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/02/99/for_jw-russia-3299_hu_ef24575471d0aed5.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/02/99/for_jw-russia-3299.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/02/99/for_jw-russia-3299_hu_a958983d91ab6a83.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/02/99/for_jw-russia-3299_hu_ec89203c83d3a812.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/02/99.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["administrative-center","mro","plant","fsem"],"title":"The Ministry of Justice is launching a large-scale unscheduled inspection of the Jehovah's Witnesses Center. What does it mean?","type":"video"},{"body":"On February 7, 2017, an application was filed with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation to initiate a criminal case against the prolific \"expert on extremism\" Natalia Nikolaevna Kryukova, the author of about 50 \"examinations\" against Jehovah's Witnesses. The evidence base sufficient to initiate a criminal case was collected by a lawyer who analyzed a number of high-profile cases related to believers of this religion.\nLawyer Viktor Zhenkov considers the activities of N. Kryukova to be a \"crime against justice\". Liability for such an offence, namely for giving false expert opinions to the court or the investigation, is provided for in article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In addition, in the activities of the expert, the lawyer sees signs of incitement to hatred, violation of equality of human and civil rights and freedoms, violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion (Articles 282, 136, 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).\nAccording to the lawyer, the expert, not even having a basic philological education, misled the courts by performing \"linguistic\" examinations of the printed publications of Jehovah's Witnesses, as well as \"acts of speech activity\" of individual believers. (Natalia Nikolaevna is a mathematician and teacher by education.) Going beyond his competence, the expert cannot fail to understand that his actions lead to miscarriages of justice, which, in turn, hurt the lives of thousands of innocent people. One example is the long-term criminal prosecution of two believers in Sergiev Posad.\nIn addition, the expert's work uses the tactics of substituting the objects of study. For example, in the operative part of one of her examinations, N. Kryukova declares the presence of signs of \"extremism\" in the 115 printed publications listed by her, however, judging by the research part of the conclusion, the expert did not analyze them at all, but oral speech recorded on digital media, which is not related to 115 printed publications.\nThe actions of N. Kryukova in relation to her assessment of the Bible are indicative. According to lawyers, these actions can be qualified as forgery. To \"find\" signs of extremism in the Bible published by Jehovah's Witnesses (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 2007), the expert turned to the book What Does the Bible Really Teach?, which in 2010 was included in the List of Extremist Materials under number 510 (the decision to include it is being challenged by the ECHR). Having discovered that this book is completely based on the Bible, the expert concludes: it means that the Bible itself is also \"extremist\"! (Certificate of study dated August 3, 2015).\nThere are more than enough such examples, since N. Kryukova's \"expertise\" is in demand by representatives of law enforcement agencies, who are increasing the indicators of the fight against extremism on law-abiding Jehovah's Witnesses. On February 21, 2014, N. Kryukova established her own organization \"Center for Socio-Cultural Expertise\". To participate in the preparation of examinations against Jehovah's Witnesses, N. Kryukova also attracts his like-minded people - V.I. Batov, A.E. Tarasov and V.S. Kotelnikov.\nAccording to the law, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is obliged to conduct an audit of the activities of \"experts\" and make a procedural decision.\n","category":"literature","date":"2017-02-09T17:21:34+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/02/95/legalcase218_hu_9b4f1f4c1b3f9a75.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/02/95/legalcase218.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/02/95/legalcase218_hu_28b7a7940287e308.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/02/95/legalcase218_hu_568e7e515bd54e11.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/02/95.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["studies-violations","fabrications","slander","bible-ban","fsem"],"title":"The Investigative Committee received materials on an \"expert\" who denigrates Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"On January 16, 2017, the Moscow City Court dismissed the appeal of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, in which believers challenged the warning issued to their Administrative Center.\nYaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia, said: \"Extremism among Jehovah's Witnesses is a delusion that has been repeated a hundredfold, but has not become true because of this. For more than 60 years, the Russian authorities have been well aware that we are as far from extremism as heaven is from earth. Our believers went to prison and even went to be shot, just not to raise weapons against people, no matter what ideals it was for. We have nothing to do with extremism.\"\nThe incident was the result of erroneous decisions of the lower courts to include a number of religious publications of Jehovah's Witnesses in the federal list of extremist materials (FSEM). Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies actively use falsified evidence (planting materials from the FSEM, false testimony) to fine believers and file lawsuits to liquidate local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses.\nJehovah's Witnesses intend to use all legal remedies to prove the absurdity of the accusations. They hope that justice will prevail.\n","category":"org","date":"2017-01-16T14:58:48+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2017/01/86/moscow_city_court-02_hu_73200109e4b7cb57.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2017/01/86/moscow_city_court-02.jpg","webp":"/news/2017/01/86/moscow_city_court-02_hu_f79f52595e9df4a2.webp","webp2x":"/news/2017/01/86/moscow_city_court-02_hu_85febb1b8d63abdd.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2017/01/86.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","appeal","liquidation","fsem"],"title":"Moscow City Court Rejects Jehovah's Witnesses' Complaint in Prosecutor's Warning Case","type":"news"},{"body":"The inclusion of a number of books by Jehovah's Witnesses in the FSEM is the only reason for accusations of extremism brought against followers of this religion in Russia. Why are Bible-based publications, freely distributed throughout the world in hundreds of languages, declared \"extremist\" in Russia?\n1. Due to the unclear definition of extremism in the law. In 2015, the UN Human Rights Committee recommended that the Russian state \"revise the Federal Law 'On Countering Extremist Activities' without undue delay in order to ... establishing clear and specific criteria by which certain materials can be classified as extremist. All necessary measures should be taken to prevent the arbitrary application of this law and the Federal List of Extremist Materials should be revised\" (CCPR/C/SR.3157, Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the Russian Federation).\n2. Due to errors of experts or judges. Court decisions, sometimes contrary to common sense, are based on expert opinions. The obvious bias or incompetence of specialists led to the appearance of a concretizing provision in the law on extremism: \"The Bible, the Koran, the Tanakh and Ganjur, their content and quotations from them cannot be recognized as extremist materials\" (Article 3.1). Unfortunately, despite this, the courts continue to receive lawsuits from the prosecutor's office to recognize the Bible itself, as well as publications with its quotations, as \"extremist materials\".\n3. Due to the selective application of \"anti-extremist\" legislation. Lev Levinson, an expert at the Institute for Human Rights, explained: \"The campaign of persecution of [Jehovah's] Witnesses for statements common to all religious texts is a gross violation of the constitutional principle of freedom of conscience and equality of religious associations before the law. I am not calling for the same approach to be applied to the Russian Orthodox Church or Jewish communities, but only to emphasize its discriminatory and absurd nature.\" The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation in his report for 2012 noted: \"The religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses remains the \"record holder\" for the number of such inspections. [...] Organizations are actually deprived of the opportunity to defend their sacred values in court, challenging the opinions of experts on the part of the prosecution. [...] Any creed is based on the position of its own \"truth\" and the \"falsity\" of other creeds.\nThere have been dark pages in the history of various countries when a ban was imposed on the translation and distribution of the Bible. In some cases, it came to the mass destruction of this book and the persecution of those who owned it. That is why many sensible people in Russia are trying to prevent a repeat of the mistakes of the past.\n","category":"faq","date":"2017-01-04T10:01:09+03:00","duration":null,"image":false,"permalink":"/en/news/about/faq/2.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["Bible-ban","fsem","review","unhrc"],"title":"Why Are Some Publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses Included in the ‘Extremist List’ (FLEM)?","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 20, 2016, Judge Alexander Kuryanov of the Leninsky District Court of Voronezh issued an order to suspend the activities of the local religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses for a period of 1.5 months for allegedly \"storing extremist materials.\" In fact, the lawyers presented to the court all the evidence that the brochures were planted on the believers.\nThe evidence was falsified on October 9, 2016, during a worship service held at the Voronezh sports complex on Voroshilov Street with the participation of 650 local Jehovah's Witnesses. On that day, referring to a call received about an alleged crime, the police invaded the worship service. Law enforcement officers began to look for \"extremist materials\" in a very unusual place - in the decorative colors with which the room was decorated. What was the surprise of believers when the police \"discovered\" hidden books included in the list of extremist materials (see photo). In addition, after passively examining several rows of believers, the police chose for inspection a package belonging to a stranger, which contained a book entered into the FSEM. The man, according to eyewitnesses, hastily left the hall just before the arrival of the police. In addition, several false witnesses appeared, who stated that they were independently in the building and were handed publications from the list of extremist materials. Although these people claimed that they did not know each other, however, video camera recordings show that before the start of the service, these people communicated with each other, took pictures together and checked their watches. Finally, the witnesses, as follows from the video, to a direct question from the lawyer, clearly confirm their interest in the outcome of the operational event.\nJehovah's Witnesses do not use materials that have been deemed \"extremist\" as a result of a series of miscarriages of justice. They strongly oppose any form of extremism that is deeply alien to their biblically based beliefs and morals. Believers consider the court's decision to be a very sad event.\n","category":"org","date":"2016-12-23T11:19:30+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/12/79/planting-11_hu_da03f0b670ce3056.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/12/79/planting-11.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/12/79/planting-11_hu_b1ff814d2983439b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/12/79/planting-11_hu_e219efd96c17c5a2.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/12/79.html","regions":["voronezh"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["fabrications","plant","meetings-disruption","fsem"],"title":"The court in Voronezh turned a blind eye to the obvious facts of falsification of evidence against Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 17, 2016, approximately 15 people came to the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses on Poselkovaya Street in Sochi, led by Police Major S. A. Matsko. Police officers, as well as people in Cossack uniforms, blocked all the doors in the building.\nLaw enforcement officers insisted on the expulsion of believers from the hall, leaving only two. As a result, believers, deprived of the opportunity to control the actions of a group of operatives, were planted with a printed publication included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials.\nIn addition to the fact that this outrageous forgery was committed, the police disrupted the services of two Sochi communities of Jehovah's Witnesses. It is noteworthy that one of the \"witnesses\" who came with the police helped knock out the gate into the courtyard of the liturgical building. Six months ago, the same witnesses were seen searching the apartment of Jehovah's Witnesses.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-12-19T16:16:50+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/12/75/planting-01_0_hu_4e3c9539bf236ac7.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/12/75/planting-01_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/12/75/planting-01_0_hu_6040977556c61772.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/12/75/planting-01_0_hu_62d4767538f77ccd.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/12/75.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fabrications","fsem","vandalism"],"title":"In Sochi, Authorities Planted a Prohibited Item on Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"On December 14, 2016, in order to falsify evidence, three strangers entered a worship service of Jehovah's Witnesses in Tula. Two of them brought with them books included in the list of extremist materials.\nIn the middle of the service, police officers entered the hall. The video shows that two strangers (see photo) quickly leave the building, and prohibited books remain in their places, which the police immediately pay attention to. A third stranger (pictured right), allegedly unrelated to the other two, stays and gives the police detailed explanations, on the basis of which a protocol is drawn up, supposedly on behalf of the parishioner.\nThis is already a well-established scheme, according to which law enforcement agencies achieved a ban on several local religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses. Fortunately, in some cases , the courts see that the evidence against Jehovah's Witnesses is falsified and refuse to impose sanctions on believers.\nJehovah's Witnesses are outraged by the unscrupulous actions of the police and their accomplices.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-12-16T14:47:25+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/12/74/planting-09_0_hu_f77302a4cb9453.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/12/74/planting-09_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/12/74/planting-09_0_hu_ac1e0c875880922b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/12/74/planting-09_0_hu_b562f038ac9db4f6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/12/74.html","regions":["tula"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fsem","fabrications"],"title":"Outrageous planting of banned publications in Tula. New details","type":"news"},{"body":"On the evening of December 14, 2016, two men entered the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses on Karl Marx Street in Tula. They planted several books on the believers included in the list of extremist materials. At the same time, about 10 law enforcement officers entered the hall, including Grigory Nikolaev, an employee of the center for countering extremism. The security forces pretended that they had accidentally discovered banned books and drew up a protocol on an administrative offense, which could ultimately threaten catastrophic consequences for the freedom of religion of local Jehovah's Witnesses.\nAs a result of the invasion, worship had to be stopped. Believers are outraged by the unscrupulous actions of the police and their accomplices.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-12-15T16:07:48+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/12/73/planting-03_0_hu_824d80d3ea54d356.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/12/73/planting-03_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/12/73/planting-03_0_hu_bbeb57b9d3edeaeb.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/12/73/planting-03_0_hu_4bba0a2724ddd2e.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/12/73.html","regions":["tula"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fabrications","fsem"],"title":"In Tula, Law Enforcement Officers Planted Banned Books on Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"Evidence has accumulated that law enforcement officers and individuals who cooperate with them systematically plant printed publications included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials (FSEM) at worship services. Why do they do this?\nBecause some officials purposefully restrict the freedom of Jehovah's Witnesses. Most often, such officials have become victims of false information about Jehovah's Witnesses. In pursuit of their goal, they do not disdain any means.\nBecause there are no real violations of the law by Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah's Witnesses do not use FSEM publications in their religious use and scrupulously check worship buildings for their absence. Unscrupulous authorities are forced to falsify evidence in order to find a pretext to accuse Jehovah's Witnesses.\nIn some cases, the courts, having sorted it out, make decisions that restore justice.\n","category":"faq","date":"2016-12-09T15:05:30+03:00","duration":null,"image":false,"permalink":"/en/news/about/faq/1.html","regions":[],"subtitle":null,"tags":["plant","fsem","fabrications"],"title":"Why Is Banned Literature Planted on Jehovah’s Witnesses?","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 19, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. in Novosibirsk, several law enforcement officers came to the service of Jehovah's Witnesses on Ruzheynaya Street, who examined the service for an hour, which actually disrupted the service. The believers were outraged by the fact that a black bag with a brochure and a book submitted to the FSEM was planted in the cloakroom. The publications were seized along with several Chinese-language Bibles.\nSince admission to the services of Jehovah's Witnesses is free, even before the start of the meeting, a stranger was seen among those present, whom the believers identified as a law enforcement officer. Jehovah's Witnesses have already faced dozens of plantings, some of which were recorded on video.\nJehovah's Witnesses do not use materials that have been deemed \"extremist\" as a result of a series of miscarriages of justice. They strongly oppose any form of extremism that is deeply alien to their biblically based beliefs and morals.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-11-21T16:02:41+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/11/65/planting-06_0_hu_cbbea508320a5344.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/11/65/planting-06_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/11/65/planting-06_0_hu_81d57942b41e280b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/11/65/planting-06_0_hu_363cf9b71c0a34ae.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/11/65.html","regions":["novosibirsk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","search","plant","fsem"],"title":"In Siberia, the security forces invaded Jehovah's Witnesses. Banned materials planted","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 13, 2016, a panel of the Leningrad Regional Court overturned the decision of a lower court, which, according to the prosecutor's office, had erroneously recognized Jehovah's Witnesses' brochures as \"extremist materials.\" The millionth party was under arrest for more than a year and a half.\nThe court examined a lot of evidence refuting the prosecutor's arguments, including the opinion of a leading expert institution in Russia, as well as the conclusions of a number of specialists in the field of philosophy and philology, including doctors of science from St. Petersburg State University and other scientists.\nIt is noteworthy that one of the brochures, which the prosecutor's office tried to recognize as \"extremist\", draws the attention of believers to the need to avoid violence, develop patience and love for others.\nThe erroneous inclusion of Jehovah's Witnesses publications in the FSEM is at the root of widespread harassment of Jehovah's Witnesses throughout the country, including the liquidation and banning of several registered communities. Jehovah's Witnesses strongly object to labelling them \"extremists,\" emphasizing that extremism is deeply alien to their biblically based views and morals.\n","category":"victory","date":"2016-11-16T16:19:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/11/63/lenoblsud-01_hu_5f7e8f84c0d31488.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/11/63/lenoblsud-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/11/63/lenoblsud-01_hu_14ea08076792aab9.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/11/63/lenoblsud-01_hu_bb6d1bcbbeb983f6.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/11/63.html","regions":["stpetersburg"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["case-dismissed","appeal","fsem","expert-conclusions"],"title":"The Leningrad Regional Court Refused to Recognize Jehovah's Witnesses' Brochures as \"Extremist\"","type":"news"},{"body":"On November 16, 2016, in Gelendzhik (Krasnodar region), operatives came to the building of Jehovah's Witnesses on Vasnetsov Street. This happened before the start of the service, when there were several people, men and women, in the building. The service was disrupted, later no one was allowed into the building and was not released, it was cordoned off by representatives of the Cossacks. Those who came planted printed publications from the FSEM to the believers, which greatly outraged the believers.\nAt the same time, searches were conducted in two more houses where Jehovah's Witnesses live. Office equipment and a personal spiritual library were seized.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-11-16T16:05:20+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/11/62/planting-02_0_hu_6884b4c2135fb4c1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/11/62/planting-02_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/11/62/planting-02_0_hu_ad11cfc3be0e8709.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/11/62/planting-02_0_hu_67fa979063f49843.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/11/62.html","regions":["krasnodar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","search","plant","fsem"],"title":"In Gelendzhik, a search of Jehovah's Witnesses in a cordon of representatives of the Cossacks","type":"news"},{"body":"Dzerzhinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region). On the evening of November 8, 2016, shortly before the start of the worship service of Jehovah's Witnesses, Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Natalia Sukhova, accompanied by an inspector of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and plainclothes officers, entered their building under the pretext of a fire inspection. Later, a police squad arrived.\nA plainclothes officer quietly entered the toilet for people with disabilities. After leaving there, he stated that in the toilet there were two religious brochures included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials (FSEM). Since there were no brochures in the building before the arrival of the security forces, and Jehovah's Witnesses do not keep religious literature in the toilet, the believers resolutely stated that \"this is a planting and provocation on the part of those who came.\" The planned worship service was disrupted.\nJehovah's Witnesses strongly object to labelling them \"extremists,\" emphasizing that extremism is deeply alien to their biblically based views and morals. They do not use literature from the FSEM and do not allow it to appear in worship buildings.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-11-10T17:01:37+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/11/55/planting-05_0_hu_2a41a08a7ec1d3e4.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/11/55/planting-05_0.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/11/55/planting-05_0_hu_25d269ab2e4b8c57.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/11/55/planting-05_0_hu_23d8d1b2abca29a3.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/11/55.html","regions":["nizhegorod"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fsem"],"title":"Security forces planted religious books in the toilet for Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 25, 2016, the Federal Bailiff Service for Kalmykia announced the confiscation of the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses, located in the city center at 32 Chkalov Street. The modest building was erected by the hands of believers in 2000.\nEarlier, the court liquidated the LRO of Jehovah's Witnesses in Elista on the basis of 2 warnings about the inadmissibility of extremist activity. Lawyers unsuccessfully tried to prove that the cases were falsified. So, on June 25, 2015, the CPE officers entered the courtyard, and police major Yurikov purposefully approached the fence, under which he \"found\" 2 books from the FSEM, clearly thrown over the fence from the outside. The community was fined 100,000 rubles and was given its first warning. The second incident occurred in December 2015. The believers recorded alarms and suspected that someone was trying to plant prohibited materials on them. Soon, more than 10 officers of the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including Major Yurikov, came with a search. In the space under the roof, which can only be accessed from the outside of the building, a package with publications from the FSEM planted by someone was found. As a result, a new fine of 100,000 rubles and a second warning, which became the basis for a lawsuit to liquidate the community and recognize it as \"extremist\".\nThe believers categorically deny all accusations of extremist activity, consider it a miscarriage of justice to recognize their literature as extremist, and appeal all such court decisions to higher authorities.\n","category":"property","date":"2016-10-28T15:04:53+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/10/52/elista-01_hu_a637c8abecadbbea.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/10/52/elista-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/10/52/elista-01_hu_887fe5087104ae3f.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/10/52/elista-01_hu_2d890368fec1f46a.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/10/52.html","regions":["kalmykia"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["mro","plant","fsem","buildings-seizure"],"title":"The process of confiscation of the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses has started in Elista","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 23, 2016, in Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk Region, 15 minutes after the start of the service, law enforcement officers arrived at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Referring to a \"received message\", they said that the building could contain weapons and extremist literature. Since the law enforcement officers did not have a search warrant, the believers let them into the building only under threat of force. During the search, law enforcement officers seized a laptop used to play liturgical music. Brochures submitted to the FSEM were planted and \"discovered\". The weapon, as expected, was not found.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-10-24T17:15:39+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/10/50/planting-02_hu_6884b4c2135fb4c1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/10/50/planting-02.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/10/50/planting-02_hu_ad11cfc3be0e8709.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/10/50/planting-02_hu_67fa979063f49843.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/10/50.html","regions":["murmansk"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fsem"],"title":"Law enforcement officers disrupted the Sunday service of Jehovah's Witnesses in the Murmansk region","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 12, 2016, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow rejected Jehovah's Witnesses' request to declare illegal the warning about the inadmissibility of extremist activities issued by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia to their Administrative Center. The court announced the decision at 1:10 p.m.\nJehovah's Witnesses consider this decision of the court to be erroneous. They strongly object to labelling them \"extremists\", emphasizing that extremism is deeply alien to their biblically based views and morals.\n","category":"org","date":"2016-10-12T13:52:54+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/10/48/tverskoy_sud-01_hu_3a17304a21a80f1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/10/48/tverskoy_sud-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/10/48/tverskoy_sud-01_hu_1526078cea8e0115.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/10/48/tverskoy_sud-01_hu_ccd40cc0444ec907.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/10/48.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","fsem","administrative-center"],"title":"The court rejected the request of Jehovah's Witnesses to annul the warning of the Prosecutor General's Office","type":"news"},{"body":"On October 12, 2016, the hearings on the lawsuit of Jehovah's Witnesses, which demand that the \"Warning on the inadmissibility of extremist activity\", issued by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia, be declared illegal. The parties have been given time to familiarize themselves with the new documents. Jehovah's Witnesses strongly object to labelling them \"extremists,\" emphasizing that extremism is deeply alien to their biblically based views and morals.\n","category":"org","date":"2016-09-23T14:58:29+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/09/42/tverskoy_sud_hu_1f504180d609444.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/09/42/tverskoy_sud.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/09/42/tverskoy_sud_hu_fa6329c38b708261.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/09/42/tverskoy_sud_hu_c16eb4bf429fbe64.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/09/42.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","fsem","administrative-center"],"title":"The court postponed the hearing on the claim of Jehovah's Witnesses demanding to annul the warning of the Prosecutor General's Office","type":"news"},{"body":"The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia is appealing in court against the warning issued by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation about the inadmissibility of extremist activities. The warning is a matter of concern because it threatens to close the Administrative Centre. On July 18, 2016, representatives of foreign embassies came to the first court hearing in the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow as observers.\nThe court held a conversation with the parties and scheduled the main hearing for September 23, 2016. It will take place at the address: st. Tsvetnoy Boulevard, 25A, beginning at 9:00. The case is being heard by Judge Maria Moskalenko.\n","category":"org","date":"2016-08-03T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/08/15/bethel-02_hu_486ea3aa8bcc3c18.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/08/15/bethel-02.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/08/15/bethel-02_hu_c6dfc34efd3ca836.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/08/15/bethel-02_hu_5fa2f46988958ab0.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/08/15.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","fsem","administrative-center"],"title":"On September 23, a meeting will be held in Moscow to appeal the warning of the Prosecutor General's Office","type":"news"},{"body":"On June 1, 2016, a lawsuit was filed with the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow to declare illegal the \"Warning on the inadmissibility of extremist activities\" issued by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia. Earlier, Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the warning to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Y. Chaika.\nPrevention consists of a number of legal contradictions. For example, the prosecutor's office charges the Administrative Center with the fact that 88 publications of the Witnesses are included in the list of extremist materials, although the prosecutor's office itself has consistently insisted in the courts that the Administrative Center should not be involved in the case, since its \"interests are not affected\" (the organization is not the publisher or copyright holder of the materials).\n","category":"org","date":"2016-06-09T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/06/17/bethel-07_hu_fc8e5bf8eff6defc.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/06/17/bethel-07.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/06/17/bethel-07_hu_5e4fe091f0ca74a4.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/06/17/bethel-07_hu_45eadbf57b529f0.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/06/17.html","regions":["moscow"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","fsem","administrative-center"],"title":"The Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses appealed to the court against the warning of the Prosecutor General's Office","type":"news"},{"body":"On March 25, 2016, in Stavropol, more than 10 police and FSB officers cordoned off the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses on Vasilyev Street. Upon entering the building, they dispersed to the back rooms and \"found\" three publications included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials (FSEM) in a box with sound-amplifying equipment on a laptop keyboard. The day before, believers carefully examined the building to exclude the possibility of planting, noting the absence of publications from the FSEM in the building. Therefore, they have no doubt that the materials were planted.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-05-19T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/05/18/planting-05_hu_2a41a08a7ec1d3e4.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/05/18/planting-05.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/05/18/planting-05_hu_25d269ab2e4b8c57.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/05/18/planting-05_hu_23d8d1b2abca29a3.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/05/18.html","regions":["stavropol"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["plant","fsem"],"title":"Planting prohibited items in the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses in Stavropol","type":"news"},{"body":"On March 27, 2016, about 10 officers from the Center for Religious Activity and the FSB broke into the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses in Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkaria, where a service was being held with the participation of more than 70 believers. The participants were not allowed to record the inspection of the premises, expelling them from the building. When the first floor of the building was at the disposal of law enforcement officers, they announced the \"discovery\" of materials submitted to the FSEM. Since the believers conduct a regular thorough inspection of the building, recording the absence of any prohibited items in it, they are sure that the materials included in the FSEM were planted by them.\n","category":"siloviki","date":"2016-05-18T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/05/19/planting-06_hu_cbbea508320a5344.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/05/19/planting-06.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/05/19/planting-06_hu_81d57942b41e280b.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/05/19/planting-06_hu_363cf9b71c0a34ae.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/05/19.html","regions":["kabardino-balkar"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["meetings-disruption","plant","fsem","hatred-attacks"],"title":"Planting prohibited items in the worship building of Jehovah's Witnesses in Prokhladny","type":"news"},{"body":"The prosecutor's office succeeded in banning the book, which is a chronological retelling of the four Gospels. The decision to ban was made by the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg, and on May 5, 2016, the book \"The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived\" was included in the federal list of extremist materials. Judge Tatyana Matusyak did not involve the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia in the case. The decision, made without the knowledge of the believers, will be appealed.\n","category":"literature","date":"2016-05-13T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/05/30/book-5_1_hu_c389154f9f19ed4f.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/05/30/book-5_1.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/05/30/book-5_1_hu_4cd1f6831a3b9817.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/05/30/book-5_1_hu_66b7363da17898aa.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/05/30.html","regions":["stpetersburg"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["fsem","sentence"],"title":"The book with the retelling of the life of Christ was recognized as extremist","type":"news"},{"body":"Evidence is being gathered that law enforcement agencies and individuals who cooperate with them systematically plant books included in the list of extremist materialsto believers . Unscrupulous authorities do everything to find a pretext to accuse Jehovah's Witnesses.\n","category":"from-the-scene","date":"2016-02-15T14:27:00+03:00","duration":"5:50","image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/02/2/image_hu_74837476bf4cc3da.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/02/2/image.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/02/2/image_hu_32f1834b97ae0524.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/02/2/image_hu_f87e6ced6f00a4ab.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/02/2.html","regions":["crimea"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["video","fabrications","plant","fsem"],"title":"How law enforcers fabricate charges against Jehovah's Witnesses. Video footage from Sevastopol, Samara and Balakovo","type":"video"},{"body":"The complaint was filed by the Watch Tower Society. The Commission on Human Rights of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation submitted to the Court an opinion that the recognition of the site as \"extremist\" violated the right of believers to judicial protection, since the case was considered without the owner of the site.\nThe court refused to consider the complaint without eliminating the legal uncertainty, as a result of which sites can be recognized as extremist without granting their owners the right to effective legal protection. There is also no proper assessment of the fact that the site is recognized as \"extremist\" in the absence of materials from the FSEM on it, but only because such materials may appear on it!\n","category":"literature","date":"2016-02-02T14:00:00+03:00","duration":null,"image":{"jpg":"/news/2016/02/34/website-01_hu_541d885d7cba42a1.jpg","jpg2x":"/news/2016/02/34/website-01.jpg","webp":"/news/2016/02/34/website-01_hu_da99740040137c5e.webp","webp2x":"/news/2016/02/34/website-01_hu_ec4df2dd52c50696.webp"},"permalink":"/en/news/2016/02/34.html","regions":["stpetersburg"],"subtitle":null,"tags":["complaints","courtroom","website","fsem","bible-ban"],"title":"The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation issued a ruling on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses","type":"news"}]