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Russian Court Declares Jehovah Witnesses' Website Extremist


The Russian Supreme Court has ruled that the website of the religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses is extremist.

The high court's officials said in Moscow on December 3 that it had agreed with an appeal filed by prosecutors after a lower court ruled that the website was not extremist, thereby reversing that court decision.

Prosecutors in Russia's Tver region filed a claim last year saying that the ideas promoted by Jehovah's Witnesses incite hatred and division.

Three of the religious organization's main books, "What Does The Bible Teach Us About," "Get Closer To Jehovah," and "Come And Follow Me" were also found by the court to be extremist.

Jehovah's Witnesses is an international religious organization that began operating in Russia and across the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

The Christian sect has some 8 million members worldwide.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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