Russia Seizes 123 Jehovah's Witnesses Properties That a Top Court Already Ruled Were Wrongly Taken

Executive Briefing

• Seized assets include 63 residential and commercial properties totaling over 11,000 square metres across Russia.
• Confiscated 60 land plots spanning 5.6 hectares, previously registered under Jehovah's Witnesses' Swedish branch.
• Russia banned Jehovah's Witnesses as an 'extremist organization' in 2017, prompting widespread arrests of members.
• European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2022 that Russia's extremist designation was itself unlawful.
• Hundreds of members have since faced criminal convictions for 'extremist activity' following the ban.