A Russian court has ordered the confiscation of 123 real estate assets belonging to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, transferring the properties to the Russian government as part of the country’s continued crackdown on the religious group.
Moscow’s court service said on Friday that the properties had been registered under the Swedish branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The seized assets include 63 residential and commercial buildings covering more than 11,000 square metres, as well as 60 plots of land spanning about 5.6 hectares across different parts of Russia.
Russia outlawed the Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017 after its Supreme Court designated the religious organisation as an extremist group.
Since then, dozens of members have been prosecuted and imprisoned on extremism-related charges, despite insisting that their activities are entirely peaceful.
The ban has drawn widespread international criticism.
In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia’s decision to label the Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organisation was unlawful and ordered the country to end the prosecutions and compensate those affected.
Russian authorities, however, have continued to pursue legal action against members of the group and seize its assets.
The latest court ruling further strengthens state control over properties previously linked to the organisation, as Moscow maintains its hardline stance despite international condemnation.
