Russian Supreme Court"s judicial chamber...
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a previous court ruling of the Rostov regional court issued on September 11, 2009, which declares the Jehovah"s Witnesses" branch in the southern Russian city of Taganrog an extremist organization and bans its activities.
Some 34 books, issued and handed out by the organization, were put on the national list of extremist literature.
The ruling "could set a precedent not only for Jehovah"s Witnesses, but for believers of all confessions," the group said in a statement, issued on its website ahead of the hearing. "It would be the first time internationally recognized Christian literature was censored in Russia."
A plot of land, an office building and other property belonging to the group were also seized.
A regional prosecutor told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that some publications, distributed by the cult"s followers, "contain offensive comments," including those that say that Christianity is a "false religion."