Jehovah's Witnesses'* Hall in KBR set on fire amid persecutions of believers

Jehovah's Witnesses* have reported the arson of a building in the dwelling settlement of Prokhladny, where religious services had been held before the ban of the religious organization. The arson was the result of an information campaign launched by official media, said a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses (the organization has been banned in Russia by the court).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 20 the SC of Russia satisfied the demand of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to liquidate all the 396 religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses* in Russia as extremist. The believers have treated the verdict as biased and promised to appeal against it.

The building of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses* in Prokhladny, built by local believers, was no longer used after the ban on the activities of the organizations in Russia. The arson occurred in the evening on June 2; the information became known on June 6.

The building was seriously damaged.

Yaroslav Sivulsky, a representative of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses*, believes that the arson was a result of the information campaign launched by official media against Jehovah's Witnesses*. "They picture Jehovah's Witnesses* extremely negatively, as extremists," Mr Sivulsky has stated.

*The organization is recognized as extremist, and its activity is banned in Russia by the court's decision

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 7, 2019 at 04:55 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.