South-Ossetian SC bans Jehovah's Witnesses*

The Supreme Court (SC) of South Ossetia has recognized the local unit of Jehovah's Witnesses* as an extremist organization and banned its activities. This has been reported today by the Minister of Justice for South Ossetia.

The decision to ban the unit of Jehovah's Witnesses was made at the claim of Uruzmag Djagaev, General Prosecutor of South Ossetia. The General Prosecutor's Office filed a claim in July, and the claim was preceded by searches and seizures of religious literature from members of the organization.

The Court's decision was pronounced last week. However, it has not been reported until today. "It will come into force within ten days if it is not challenged. A register of such organizations will be kept in future. I believe they will gather secretly in some way, but their activities will be monitored by the competent authorities," announced Zalina Lalieva, Minister of Justice for South Ossetia, as quoted by the "Sputnik-Ossetia".

*In Russia, 396 legal units of Jehovah's Witnesses, including the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses, are recognized as extremist organizations, and their activities in the Russian Federation are prohibited by court's decision.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.