US State Dept. Calls On Russia To Respect Jehovah's Witnesses Followers

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2019) Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on Saturday that the Jehovah's Witnesses sect, which is banned in Russia as an extremist organization, is a "peaceful practice" and called on Russia to respect its adherents.

Earlier in the week, Russia's Saratov Court sentenced six adherents to Jehovah's Witnesses from 2 to 3.5 years of imprisonment over extremism.

"Deeply concerned by Russian court decision to jail six Jehovah's Witnesses in Saratov for peaceful religious practice. We urge #Russia to respect its citizens' rights to religious freedom and stop falsely accusing Jehovah's Witnesses of extremism," Ortagus wrote on Twitter.

In March 2017, Russia's Justice Ministry suspended the activities of the sect in the country due to its extremist activities and incitement of religious hatred. In April 2017, the Russian Supreme Court upheld the ministry's ban on the Jehovah's Witnesses sect in Russia as an extremist organization.