ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—In a clandestine hearing, the Makarov District Court (Sakhalin region) found nine publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including a tract entitled Comfort for the Depressed, to be extremist. The copyright owner of the publications was not invited to participate in the court proceedings and claims a violation of its “right to a fair trial” as stipulated by Article 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

On October 18, 2011, Judge Olga Tereschenko issued the ruling in favor of the claim filed by Prosecutor Sergey Aleksandrov. However, the decision was not publicized by the prosecutor’s office until November 11. Among the nine publications declared to be extremist are the tracts entitled Who Are Jehovah’s Witnesses?, Jehovah—Who Is He?, Jesus Christ—Who Is He?, and All Suffering Soon to End!

Anton Omelchenko, legal counsel for the copyright owner, stated: “It is hard to comprehend the fact that the court pronounced as extremist a publication (Comfort for the Depressed) that exclusively encourages physical exercise, eating wholesome food, getting fresh air, sufficient rest and reading God’s Word. It appears that the court can pronounce any publication as extremist.”

Media Contacts:

J. R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5600

Russia: Grigory Martynov, tel. +7 812 702 2691

Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015

Source: http://www.jw-media.org/rus/20111118.htm