Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered the disbanding of the Jehovah’s Witnesses on Russian territory.
The ban came into effect after the court rejected an appeal by the religious group against a ruling in April which declared it to be extremist.
BBC: Russia Jehovah’s Witnesses banned after they lose appeal
People attend the annual Jehovah's Witnesses assembly gathering 30.000 believers on July 22, 2011 in Villepinte, Paris suburb. European rights judges said on June 30, 2011 that France had interfered with the religious freedom of Jehovah's Witnesses in imposing a supplementary tax assessment on gifts by its faithful. The Association of Jehovah's Witnesses claimed that the French government was trying to repress their activities by imposing in 1998 a tax assessment that amounted in total to 45 million euros ($65 million), covering the period from 1993 to 1996. AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY / AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY
