Russia sees sharp increase in human rights violations

“It turned out to be a significant date for freedom of conscience in our country, but not in a good way,” said Yaroslav Sivulsky, member of the Presiding Committee of the Administrative Center of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia. “On September 11, 2009, the Rostov Regional Court rendered a decision to liquidate the Taganrog Community of Jehovah’s Witnesses and to declare as ‘extremist’ 34 religious publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Reviewing the results, it can be stated that the religious climate in Russia has dramatically deteriorated since that day. Hundreds of incidents of human rights violations against Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to be reported nationwide, including searches, arrests, and disruptions of religious services.