Russia Seizes Jehovah's Witnesses' Property

A Moscow court has ordered the confiscation of 123 properties belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses and their transfer to the Russian state. The Moscow court service announced the ruling on Friday.

According to the service, the properties were registered to the Swedish branch of Jehovah's Witnesses. They include 63 residential and commercial properties covering more than 11,000 square meters and 60 plots of land totaling 5.6 hectares, located in various parts of Russia.

In 2017, a Russian court banned the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that it was an "extremist organization". In 2022, however, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the ban was unlawful.

Since the ban was enacted, many Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia have been convicted and imprisoned for "extremist activities".

(Reuters, bak)