Expert opinions exonerate literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia

01-19-2011 • www.jw-media.org

NOVOURALSK, Russia—After court-appointed experts who examined several publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses presented their findings, the Novouralsk City Court on December 30, 2010, accepted the prosecutor’s withdrawal of a claim to have the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses pronounced as “extremist.” The experts found that these publications “do not contain any statements in the form of a call or incitement against any social, racial, national, ethnic or religious group or its representatives.” The court decision regarding these publications sets a precedent for all other courts and law-enforcement agencies in Russia. Attorney E. S. Chernikov stated: “The findings of the specialists of the Ural Regional Center of Judicial Expert Studies and the Ural State University reveal more than the skill of each expert. They reveal the courage and adherence to certain principles of those experts. The conclusion is particularly noteworthy in view of the negative attitude these same experts expr