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Religious and other NGOs operating in Russia must respect Russian law — top diplomat

In August 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice listed ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ and the 395 local religious organizations within its structure as a banned organization over its unlawful activities

Sergey Lavrov Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

Sergey Lavrov

© Mikhail Tereshchenko/TASS

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Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia suspended over extremism

HELSINKI, March 3. /TASS/. Any non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating on Russian territory, including religious ones, must respect and comply with the Russian law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday, during a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto.

"We have discussed the human rights issues, including the ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ activities," the top diplomat said. "We confirmed our position that all NGOs, including religious ones, must respect Russian laws. Unfortunately, the ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ structure that worked in Russia directly called for not complying with the Russian law. Of course, we cannot agree with that."

In August 2017, the Russian Ministry of Justice listed ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ and the 395 local religious organizations within its structure as a banned organization over its unlawful activities. The same year, the Supreme Court of Russia satisfied the Ministry’s legal demand to liquidate this organization.

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