Admin l Thursday, May 03, 2018
MOSCOW, Russia – St. Petersburg City Court today closed its eyes to clear evidence and as usual and in clear violation of the rule of law in its quest to root out every vestige of Jehovah’s Witnesses directed authority to confiscate properties that have been donated to the Watchtower Bible and Tracts Society of Pennsylvania (WTPA) based in the United States.
The court also ignored the fact that the Russian Government was in recipient of some $3 million (188 million rubles) in property taxes paid to the Russian Federation, by WTPA, which currently own the building in question.
The properties in question were 16 buidings, which are now valued properties of WBTS with a combine value of $31.8 million about 2 billion Rubles.
The Court upheld the ruling of a lower court that confiscated the property of Jehovah’s Witnesses valued 2 billion rubles (about $31.8 million), forcing Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania registered in the U.S., to file an appeal.
In December, the Sestrotretsky District Court of St. Petersburg found that the Administrative Centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses transferred its property complex to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania under a donation agreement on March 1, 2000.
What now is the state of the 16 buildings owned by Watchtower Society in Russia?
However, the court declared the deal was fraudulent, stressing that the Jehovah’s Witnesses continued using the property after its transfer to the foreign organization and confiscated the property complex in profit of the Russian Federation.
In April 2017, the Supreme Court of Russia ordered liquidation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses managing organization and all its 395 local branches. In August, the Administrative Centre of Jehovah’s Witnesses was added to the list of banned extremist organizations.
The state of Russia, analysts have said is waging war of attrition against the Jehovah’s Witnesses Since 2009 declaring innocent publications which preach morals without antagonising the state as extremist after planting materials in their kingdom halls.
Jehovah’s Witnesses is an international religious organization based in Brooklyn, New York known for peace, abhoring all acts of war. But despite its peaceful nature, the Vladimir Putin led government has consistently waged war on them, a war many believe Putin cannot win. The notorious German dictator, Adolf Hitler did thesame, vowing to wipe out the witnesses from planet earth but failed.
“He died and today the Jehovah’s Witnessess have continued to wax strong”, analysts have said.
