Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to ban the Jehovah's Witnesses on the grounds that the group is considered to be an extremist organisation.
Answered on
19 July 2017
The UK is deeply concerned by the dismissal of an appeal against the decision of Russia's Supreme Court to categorise the Jehovah's Witnesses as extremists. This ruling effectively criminalises the peaceful worship of some 175,000 Russian citizens and is at odds with the right to religious freedom which is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.
I issued a statement on 18 July expressing our concerns. We have raised this issue with the Russian Government and continue to call on them to uphold their commitment to this basic freedom in international fora, including in the Council of Europe.